ANTI-
by ayla.kocak
Summary: Aria, a world full of dark and light mages, is destroyed. One repressed magician learns of new worlds, of new people, and that decisions are not always black and white. Riku/OC. Starts during 358/2 Days.
1. Anti-

Chapter 1: Anti-

* * *

Dark shadows played across the snow that glistened in the moonlit mountains. Instead of chasing, they were retreating—retreating from the Keybearer who had taken so many of their kind already, but to no avail.

The Keybearer fixed his hood on his head. He was a Nobody, but not even he could brush off the chill of the night.

"Good job, kiddo," A hooded man approached his side. "Looks like you pulled through without my help."

They examined the world around them in silence. Down the slope was a huge compound with less egress than the market it overlooked. In addition, small teams of people kept to a route around certain parts of the town, as if on patrol for something specific.

"Xigbar, what are they looking for? Why is this place so dark?"

Xigbar grinned from underneath his hood. It was an empty one, filled solely with the memories surrounding this world several years ago.

A civil war.

A bargain made.

A world being dragged into the darkness for the crimes of its people.

And it was all because of him.

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

It was a dreadful question repeated on a weekly basis. No matter how many times she told herself it did not bother her, she become irritated all over again.

Across from the dusky girl in the soft blue room sat a counselor with a blank face and a clipboard in hand. Every time Sayeh said something, the pen would run across the clipboard in tiny, erratic gestures, only pausing for her.

Sayeh finally answered, "I'm fine. Just a slip of control."

That was a nice way of saying it. There was no admittance to panic or anxiety. But that was all part of the game.

The counselor adjusted her posture and without looking up from her clipboard, said, "That's not what your Potions professor said."

The herbal mixture in the glass failed to bubble like everyone else's. Then, suddenly, the mixture fizzled and spouted high, and the final piece in Sayeh's anxiety puzzle to make her lose control. Soon, glasses are soaring towards the ceiling, crashing and falling onto the other students. When the last glass hit the ceiling, Sayeh shakily held the pieces in the air, placing them on the ground, out of the way. She could look only at her hands, too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye.

"Yeah, well, I'm stressed. But so is everyone else, so."

"Yes. Everyone else is stressed. But need I remind you that a Blessed like you—"

Sayeh blurted, "I didn't ask to be this way. I just am, so why am I being punished for it?"

The counselor was silent. Sayeh could see the truth in her eyes, begging to be released, yet her firmly pressed lips would not give way.

More penstrokes.

"There's nothing wrong with me, it was a mess-up," Sayeh reaffirmed, leaning back in her chair.

"Fine," the counselor relented. "No family visitation and you are restricted to the campus. Can't have you 'messing up' around people we're meant to protect. With our current outbreak of Hearteaters, one less incident does wonders. Off you go; I'll see you next week."

Outside in the waiting room of the health ward sat a pretty girl with a long plait of platinum hair. Even as she sat, her long, flouncy tunic billowed around her barely visible trousers, a trendy look from her hometown. She was reading the news about the recent attacks of the Hearteaters, how close it was coming towards the school. It was why the school was so strict about Sayeh's kind; at least, that's what they believed.

"So, how did it go?" Azara asked without looking up.

Sayeh answered with a wry smile, "The same way it always goes. This time, I'm not allowed to have visitation or leave campus."

"But your family doesn't visit you anyway," Azara said without the slightest hint of caution.

The last time Sayeh's family visited her was years ago. She was a lot younger then, though she still understood the shame in her parents' face when they found out she was more than a Blessed. She was the most dangerous sort, according to the school. At first, the visits were civil, but became sparse and filled with one-side conversation. Within the last year, Sayeh became one of the few students at the Dildesh Parochial School without visitors.

Even Azara's parents worried about her potentially dangerous roommate. Whenever they saw her, they offered a kind, half-hearted smile and avoided looking at her, as if one look would kill them. Students who knew Sayeh well enough treated her kindly without hesitation, and other Dark Blessed regarded her with the same dead-eyed expression she often wore.

"Thanks for the reminder," Sayeh snapped, wrapping herself in a worn shawl. She threw open the doors to the school, and walked ahead of Azara down the snowy bank to the dorms.

"Sayeh, wait!"

The girl whirled around, her high emotions manipulating the snow around her, sending it flurrying in every direction. To Azara, a mundane person who came to the parochial school wanting the best education, watching Sayeh lash out could be, at times, beautiful. The snow moving on such a basic whim thrilled Azara, made Sayeh look fierce with her dark hair whipping around her face. She was never afraid of Sayeh. In fact, she admired her struggle.

"What?"

"…Don't leave me behind," Azara finally answered. Her friend relented and walked slower. "Gah! I don't see how you Sirmani can stand this all the time! Being in the mountains, the fog, the rain…!"

_Crunch_.

"The _snow_!"

Sayeh bubbled with laughter. Azara and her fancy, long tunics were never a match for the snow. There was no need to wear them, especially when warmth took priority over aesthetic. Azara, now waist deep in snow, would be dining in a wet net of fabric.

"Ugh, I can't wait to spend my vacation back in the—"

The bell rang a few times. At first the girls ignored it, thinking it was the bell announcing dinner. When there was a sudden influx of guards, however, they changed their mind.

Counting the number of clangs, Sayeh realized aloud, "The Hearteaters. Azara, stay close to me!"

Sayeh was hardly a fighter. It was what the school intended for her to be, yet another Dildesh Guard, but she was not yet allowed into combat classes. Still, her role at this school was of a student, to learn the ways of the Blessed and become a protector of the people, a public servant. For now, her charge was Azara, who cowered behind her in silence.

In the dark, guards peppered the snow in all directions, waiting for the Hearteaters to show. Sayeh had seen them firsthand a few times. They looked like giant ants the size of a small person, such as herself. Their eyes shone a predatory yellow, scanning for the next target.

Sure enough, a shadow skittered across the banks of snow past the guards. It was one of many leading the charge on the people for the trophies in their chests. The guards attacked without hesitation, hurling magic and weapons at the assailants.

"Should we make a run for the dorms?" Azara stammered in a shrill tone, squealing when larger Hearteaters rose from the ground and circled around them. These creatures were taller than both girls, with purplish skin stretching across rippling muscles and veiny wings, and horns shooting from their heads. While they wielded a menacing, wide sword of vermilion metal, the thing that scared the girls most about these Hearteaters was that as soon as they appeared, they disappeared.

"Where'd they go—Sayeh!"

An invisible force knocked Sayeh in her stomach and sent her flying yards away. She gasped for breath, fought for the desperate need of air despite the blazing pain in her abdomen. Never had she been hit so hard before, where she could barely get into a kneeling position.

Sayeh looked to Azara—as if in slow motion, she watched a black ball of energy form in the unseen hand of a Hearteater before being hurled at her friend, who struggled to backpedal in the snow out of the Hearteater's range. Then, more energy was summoned from around Azara. They all planned to end Azara together. They were competing for her heart, even moments before it would leave her body.

"Azara!" Her name came out mangled. It was too late.

Or so Sayeh thought.

Another black shadow scooped Azara out of the way in the nick of time. A taller one aimed at the Hearteaters with guns loaded with crystals. One second, it was standing in the snow. A moment later, it stood upside down, impervious to gravity's laws, and fires at all the Hearteaters simultaneously.

Again, more Hearteaters materialized, trampling and scratching at Sayeh. Half of her wanted to fight—she was capable, but of what, she did not know. Sure, when she was not looking, a glass could shatter. When Sayeh got mad, she could move the snow. But how would that help? How would that change the fact that she was curled in a ball while these greasy, inky creatures were clawing at her arms and legs?

Where was the thing that saved Azara? Why was it hesitating to save her? Where were the guards, even? They were sworn to protect their people, they should be there.

Maybe she was not worth the saving.

The snow around Sayeh mixed with the ribbons of blood torn from her body. She let out a shriek louder than the rest, a blood curdling cry for salvation from these dark beasts. One thing would hurt, but the snow would numb it, and then another thing would be cut open, as if the Hearteaters were literally tearing their way towards her heart.

Sayeh's vision blurred between tears and slips into unconsciousness. All she saw was the beady bloodshot yellow eyes of the Hearteaters crowding over her.

"Why'd you tell me not to save her?" Roxas asked over the sobs of Azara.

After taking out all the Heartless in the immediate area, Roxas let go of the blonde. Azara rushed over to her friend's lifeless body, clutching it to her breast.

"She'll be back," Xigbar waved a hand dismissively, checking his guns for ammunition.

"How do you know?"

"You ask a lot of questions, kiddo. I've been here before. This world is special. It's closer to the darkness than most other worlds. The people here played with the darkness too much, and now the world is falling into the crapper. It's why we're here, helping it along, so the hearts can go to Kingdom Hearts."

"How is defeating the Heartless…? Oh, right. The hearts have to be released…B-but what does she have to do with it?"

"She's one of _them_. Watch."

In Azara's arms, the body flushed with heat. As it convulsed, Azara scooted away, thinking the worst of the situation, considering her friend lost her heart. Nearly bending backwards, the reanimated body rose, eyes void, but open with the same glow of the Hearteater eyes. Darkness wisped from her swarthy skin, which slowly turned that same shade of intense black, void of any color except purples and blues.

Sayeh's body slouched forward with her head hanging. Claws quickly replaced the nails on her hands. It stared right at Azara, who let out a squeal as she ran for Roxas and Xigbar.

"Yeah, I wouldn't get too close either!" Xigbar chuckled. "I'd run if I were you."

Azara clambered through the snow, trying to avoid what was left of Sayeh. It was no use, as she barely made it to the steps of the school. Her foot slipped, and her head bounced against the floor, resulting in a groan from Azara. The floor, however, was too icy and too wet to crawl. Within mere seconds, Azara let out an agonizing howl before being torn to shreds.

Roxas had looked away the entire time. Xigbar always told him he would get used to it. It was part of their goal to collect hearts, but saving people was not. Roxas felt queasy in his stomach, but convinced himself it was not real.

After all, he had no heart. He was a Nobody.

* * *

_I killed my friend._

_I gave her heart away._

_Do I still have mine?_

_This is what they were talking about._

_This was why they treated me the way they did._

_I'm a monster._

_I'm evil._

The world around her, what used to be an enormous school campus filled with snow in the mountains, was all gone.

What remained was Hearteaters fighting over the scant amount of survivors left, water beneath her feet, and scraggly rocks jutting high into the indigo sky. Orbs of dark energy hung like stars above her head and in the distance, a bright portal of light turned and turned, engulfing rocks and bits and pieces.

Sayeh sunk to the ground. There were no tears, just shock and silence. For a second she wished she was back in the soft blue room with the counselor who asked her how she felt. Her gaze fell to her hands, which sat uselessly in her lap. They were claws at one point in time, tearing skin from Azara's body.

A sense of uncleanliness overtook Sayeh as she attempted to dive her hands in the water beneath her. They crashed into the surface barrier instead, breaking her nails and sending shots of pain underneath the skin. She cried out, holding her hands to her chest.

Everything hurt. Her feelings, her hands, her heart… everything hurt. Rage bubbled up through her throat, and she roared.

"WHY?!"

Sayeh slammed her fists on the ground.

A fond memory of Azara braiding Sayeh's hair flitted through her mind, followed by images of her lifeless body; tears coated Sayeh's cheeks as she screamed herself raw into the abyss.

"I shouldn't exist… I shouldn't be alive… why am I still here…"

She felt the water beneath climb her body, swallow her whole. Sayeh did not care. Let her die. Everyone else did. Sayeh waited for her breath to run out, for water to replace air in her lungs, but instead, she sunk lower and lower into the depths, until nothing was visible, not even her own hand.

And then there was air.

Sayeh bobbed on top of ebony waters lit by a full, illuminated moon. She felt the waves carry her to a sandy coastline. Here, there was no one and nothing.

_This is where your journey begins._

_You are now connected._

"What?" Sayeh asked aloud, but the only answer was a raspy echo.

Near some larger rocks away from the waves, a portal of violet and blue opened itself. It stood, waiting for attention. Somehow, she knew, it was waiting for her.

At first, she hesitated. It could lead back to more Hearteaters. Or, it could lead to new opportunities.

_This is where your journey begins._

_You are now connected._

What could that voice have meant? What could her journey be? Would she not just ruin more people's lives? Sayeh hardly wanted that. She turned away from the portal, walking the opposite way along the coastline.

Suddenly, the portal turned into a vacuum. Sand and small rocks flew backward into the hole. Sayeh grabbed at the large rocks, but her grip was weak. She was sucked into the portal, not knowing where she was going.

* * *

-Twilight Town-

DiZ tapped away at the keys, his eyes scanning the program he was writing to ensure easy debugging later, should he actually need it. Preparing the virtual Twilight Town for Roxas' capture had proved an easier way of passing the time. Naminé took care of the preparations for Sora, sketching his lost memories and taping them on the walls of her room, similar in appearance to her previous stark white prison in Castle Oblivion.

A recent addition to their team was Riku, who transported Naminé himself to ensure her safety against the Organization. Most of his time was spent in the field or training. If the boy minded himself carefully, the darkness within him would grow tame and controllable. In the meantime, Riku was still a haughty teenager struggling to grapple his darker side. Often, he would go against DiZ's orders, follow his own rules, and end up crawling back to the Mansion, bested by his own darkness and complaining that DiZ was a horrible teacher. DiZ, on the other hand, found experience to be the best teacher. Riku would eventually grow tired of being out of control, and would seek dominance over his own heart.

A beeping from another screen distracted DiZ from his thoughts. He scooted in his chair to the map screen, eying a blinking dot in the woods. There was an intruder in Twilight Town.

Striding into the room with his head high was Riku. Instead of his old blue-and-yellow ensemble that he was already outgrowing by the time they met, Riku donned the black, hooded jacket DiZ gave him, the one all the Organization XIII members—and the King—wore.

Riku only stood in the doorway with his arms crossed. While he made no verbal admission to notify DiZ of his presence, DiZ began to speak as if he knew.

"There's something in the woods."

"Usually there's tons of things in the woods," Riku answered wryly, "Squirrels, birds, trees…"

"Something dark," DiZ added, which silenced Riku's sarcastic list of forest life. "If it's the Organization, avoid confrontation. They have swept over this world several times to no avail."

The woods outside Twilight Town often reminded Riku of the jungle on Destiny Islands. He and the other kids were never allowed to go in there, but sometimes they did anyway. The jungle was dense, lush, diverse in color, and wet. Thick and verdant also described these woods with accuracy.

As he trudged through, he thought of the time Kairi found a macaw family. So easily they perched on her arms as she offered them different fruits and nuts. The second she passed one to Sora, however, the macaw went crazy and nipped him on his arm.

Sora.

He hoped—_prayed_—his work in the future would reverse the damage he dealt against Sora, his own friend. Even if he could never show his face to Sora again, he would fight for him, ensure his survival against the Organization XIII. If Sora was the light, he would be the dark.

And he would fight Ansem.

Riku stopped mid-stride when he caught the scent. It was a faint, sweet, and sickly smell: a blend of blood, sweat, and darkness. The person to whom it belonged was either close to death or a corpse.

Following the smell, he happened upon a body of a girl, little taller than Naminé, with dark hair and skin. Her long tunic was shredded and bloodied, as was the rest of her. He kneeled beside her and reached for a pulse. A weak, arrhythmic beat jumped against the pads of his gloved fingers; the girl was barely alive. He uttered a spell, and with green specks of light showering her body, a breath filled the girl. All her cuts and scratches mended together and she was whole again.

But a Cure spell could not fix dehydration, which kept her in such a state. The girl was probably not an Organization XIII member, so Riku thought it best to carry her to DiZ. The old man may figure out why the girl still reeked of darkness.

If she was a refugee, she would have landed in Traverse Town, Riku thought to himself and he picked her up and headed for the mansion. He doubted she was truly dark, a force similar to himself. He had never seen her before in his days with Maleficent. Perhaps she was a victim of circumstance.

The girl only woke when she was laid in a tube in DiZ's lab. Just as the glass fell to meet the base of the tube, she shot up, banged on the glass in a panicked motion, physically resisting the rising fluid that would both nurture and sedate her, as it was for Sora. Within seconds, she was back to sleep.

"Well, she isn't an Organization member," DiZ said aloud. "However, bringing it here may cause unnecessary attention our way. We know nothing about it or why it came to this world—"

"It's a girl," Riku snapped. "She has a heart. I wouldn't have brought her here otherwise."

Riku knew he was right when DiZ went silent. Finally, "Get the witch. I want her to look at the girl's memories."

"She's not a Heartless," Naminé said with finality, standing before the tube. "Or a Nobody. What is interesting is that she never made it to Traverse Town."

"That's what I thought," Riku affirmed with a nod.

"All I can see is a portal… a beach in the Realm of Darkness… and the remnants of a world lost to darkness. The rest she'll have to tell us herself." Naminé made to leave, to return back to Sora's memories upstairs. Riku followed after her, urged by unanswered questions.

"How come you can't see more? Why does she reek of darkness?"

Naminé stopped on a stair to face Riku. "It's hard to say… she's not connected to Sora, so what I can see is limited. You'll just have to wait for her to answer."

"A waste of resources," DiZ claimed with distaste, referring to the tube encapsulating the person of the hour. "Get her out of there."

"But she has nothing—"

"Will you further delay Sora's restoration?" DiZ challenged him, looking him dead in the eye. He knew it was Riku's weakness, the only way to get him to do anything against his will. "As I thought. Get her out."

Riku muttered under his breath. "Why even put her in there in the first place…"

Suddenly, a strange question struck him. Why did he even care about her? He decided the answer was about her darkness. She had a heart. She also had darkness. The people he met that were dark or… _bad_, had no hearts, everyone except for him. He doubted contact with Ansem was possible, considering Ansem now existed only in him. The circles his thoughts would run in.

While Riku went into town for takeout, Naminé kept haphazard watch over the girl. As Naminé sketched more of Sora's memories in crayon, the girl sat at the opposite end of the white table in the white room, slouched in a white chair. Naminé found it odd for Riku to suddenly obsess over saving one person, but resigned to believing it was part of his new leaf, part of distancing himself from the darkness. If she had a dark scent, maybe he would push her to get rid of hers, too.

Naminé hand limply held a crayon as she looked between her work and the girl, thinking more about the possibilities of Riku resolving his darkness when a gaze locked with hers. Her eyes were open. She was staring back at her.

She sat, rooted to the chair, the girl mimicking her same fear and paralysis. "Uh—uh—Riku!"

Naminé realized Riku was still in town, not yet returned. She clutched at her crayons and sketchbook as she burst from the chair and backed away. "DiZ!"

"P-please…" The girl whined. "I'm not a monster… I don't think I am, at least."

She rested her elbows on the table, cradling her head in her palms.

"My head hurts really bad. Where am I? I was swept into a portal on some dark beach, last I remember."

Naminé shook her head, standing in the corner. If DiZ was going to take his sweet time coming upstairs, if at all, she was going to stall for time. "What's your name? Do you remember?"

"Sayeh," She answered, rubbing her fingertips in small circles on her eyelids. Suddenly she snapped, "Can you get out of the corner? You're making me uncomfortable. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not a monster…" Her voice trailed off, as if reminiscent.

"Naminé. Why do you keep saying you're not a monster?"

"Your friend in the black coat, who put me in the tank. He must have known what I did to my friend in my world. You guys are recruiting me because I did it."

"Did what—"

"Naminé!" In the blink of an eye, Riku stood between Sayeh and Naminé, his Soul Eater raised overhead, at the ready. "Are you okay?"

"I didn't do anything," Sayeh said weakly, wincing at the pain within her skull. Wiping her face, she continued, pained, "You need to talk to your friends about what happened to my world. I want to know why it was destroyed. Why did they let everything happen?"

Riku understood who she was talking about. The Organization was part of why she was here. Naminé did speak about a lost world. He lowered his weapon, though he kept a trained eye on Sayeh. "They're not our friends."

Sayeh rose to her feet, albeit too quickly. She wobbled until she smacked a hand on the table for balance, looking Riku in his face. "But your clothes are the same as theirs! They stood by while the Hearteaters took me out, then let me take my own friend out! How should I know if you're different? Somehow, I can smell you all the way over here! It's a bad smell!"

There was silence.

"Look," Sayeh began, "I have no idea what's going on. I feel awful, physically and emotionally."

This was more than the counselor ever got out of her.

"I killed my friend because of the Hearteaters. And because of black coats like you. I had claws, like them…" She peered again at her hands, the scrapes from the beach healed by Riku's magic. Azara's beautiful smile replayed at the back of her mind. Her eyes burned with tears for the umpteenth time, but she refused to cry in front of more strangers. "I turned into a Hearteater."

More silence. Eventually, she saw the boy relax, no longer finding her a threat.

"Heartless," He corrected her.

"Hm?"

"They're called Heartless," He answered. "The black coats—the _other_ ones—are members of the Organization XIII. They go to different worlds and cause chaos, so they can capture more hearts. Naminé, I'm going downstairs. I gotta figure out why DiZ didn't bother to come up."

Once Riku left, it was as if he never showed. Naminé still stood in the corner, and Sayeh, at the table. However, Naminé slackened just as Riku had, and gave Sayeh a small smile as she set her notebook down on the table, chasing a runaway crayon and replacing it in the book's bind.

"If he's not a typical black coat, then who is he?"

"His name is Riku," Naminé responded, looking to the open door. "He does the fighting for our side. The good side. He's really strong, but has a lot of darkness to battle. I think he understands how you feel."

* * *

**Hello! I spent a lot of time redoing this series. It was originally ARIA, but I felt it was not getting enough attention, probably because of content and the way I went about it was messy. This time, I went a different angle. This story has an underlying theme of depression to it, because I find people who have depression are, in a sense, like Riku. They have to journey to find their way to their own dawn. There's a constant battle with the dark side. Review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Colors

CHAPTER 2: Colors

* * *

A rosy stream of light filtered through the fluttering curtains, as they did throughout the day. It was a strange thing, counterintuitive, to wake up and see the sun setting, even in the odd hours of night. Back home, she would simply flip over and return to sleep, or wake Azara if she could. In this old, dusty, once lavish room, there was no Azara to wake. Beyond the lumpy red canopy bed there was plastic-covered furniture, golden inlays dulling with traverse of time. Beside her bed, drafts played in the curtains, giving them life not suited for the dead mansion. It was here Sayeh woke up sweating, thinking of the friend she used to know.

A soft knock alerted Sayeh to another's presence before the door opened, a blonde head peeking in, but again, not Azara's. The hair was too short; Azara's fell to her hips, and was always kept in a braid. "Riku made breakfast downstairs, if you're hungry."

Whether Sayeh was conscious or dreaming, there was an indescribable feeling in her heart. Was it a void? Did she feel numb? It was emptiness, the opposite of what she felt during her visits with the counselors. Perhaps the darkness in her drained away when her world fell apart, and perhaps the armor she forged to protect herself from her world had broken. There was freedom, and it was all too overwhelming. Every decision from this point onward fell on Sayeh.

_This is where your journey begins._

_You are now connected._

Sayeh recalled the yesterday's words in her head as she stared at the closed door. Naminé, Riku, and DiZ were in this mansion, waiting for her to make the decision to walk through that door. They were waiting for her to make the decision to start this new life of hers, wherever it may lead. The thought frightened her, rooted her to the ground.

On the other hand, the pains in her body, the blood caked onto sealed wounds and the tears in her clothes reminded her there was no way to turn back. Everything she knew was gone now. Again, reality collapsed on her and left no choice. There was no freedom, unlike what Sayeh originally thought.

What did she want now? What was life to be now? What was there to aspire to?

None of these questions received answers before, even in her normal life. Azara always had an answer. She wanted to be a teacher at the school, and always studied hard. Azara aspired to be happy with life, even when Sayeh dragged her down. Could Sayeh, too, aspire to be happy? Was happiness possible now? Was it before?

A chandelier hung over a long, plain table. Sitting at the far end was DiZ with a newspaper hiding his face. On the other end, Naminé scraped her fork across scrambled eggs. Riku sat next to her, filling his plate with second helpings of his favorites when Sayeh strode in, head held high.

Her torn clothes coupled with the determined look in her eye reminded Riku of Kairi's arrival on Destiny Islands. A little girl then, her clothes were soiled and torn from the storm that carried her, but she was resolute in her willingness to live, regardless if she was lost and far from a home she forgot.

A tear at the armhole revealed smooth, dark skin underneath, stretched across the shoulder bone like tanned leather. Realizing this, Riku looked between her shoulder and her face, and found sunken cheeks and deep circles under her eyes.

He whispered to Naminé, "Get another plate—"

Just as Naminé moved to fetch a plate from the kitchen, Sayeh replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not hungry. I just wanted to know…what now?"

DiZ folded the newspaper and laid it on his end of the table. "Frankly, whatever you'd like. The choices are all yours. You can choose to succumb to the darkness within you and destroy everything in your path…"

An ache pounded in Sayeh's heart, reminded again of Azara.

"…Or you can choose to accept it and move on."

"How do I _accept_ darkness?" Sayeh rasped with a tight throat. She stared DiZ dead in the eye, her knuckles white from clenching her fists. "How do I? I have been taught all my life that I am evil, I am worthless, a monster. Now you are asking me to accept that I am a monster, and that it's okay to be one? I killed my best friend because I am a monster. I cannot accept the darkness in me."

"It's as you said," DiZ answered, "You have been taught, to this point. The same society that swore by this ideology is now lost in oblivion. Light casts shadows, but both are interdependent." He looked to Riku further down the table. "There is a middle path, so I've been told."

Riku, too, folded his arms, "Yeah, but she's different from me. I've never turned into a Heartless."

Naminé followed the conversation intently. When the room quieted, she did too, scavenging her brain for something that could help.

On Riku and Naminé's journey from Castle Oblivion, they happened upon a mysterious place an hour outside Twilight Town. A strange, purple train decorated in stars and crescents chugged along an illuminated track to an island floating in space where a sorcerer resided in a tall tower.

"Um…What about the sorcerer in the Mysterious Tower? What was his name?" Naminé thought aloud, earning a scoff from Riku.

"What could he possibly know?"

'_Sorcerer in the Mysterious Tower?_' DiZ thought to himself. Was it the King's mentor?

"Sorcerer? Is he made of…of darkness?" Sayeh asked with a hard swallow.

Naminé ignored her, instead focusing on Riku. "Wouldn't he know? He trained the King and—"

"Who's the King—"

"—and he knows magic, and—"

"I'm so confused, I don't understand—"

Riku snapped. "I can't hear the both of you talking at once! Look, none of us know what to think about you." The word 'you' sounded contemptuous when spoken. He turned to DiZ. "It's better we find out about her before the Organization does. I'll take her to Master Yen Sid."

Because there were no portals to the Mysterious Tower, Riku and Sayeh had to take the long way, a purple train decorated in stars and crescents. Once they arrived wordlessly at the Train Station, Riku passed the ticket office without a glance. Sayeh caught sight of some small trinkets on a souvenir stand and could not help but to look.

This world was so strange to her. The girls bared skin not just on their arms but also on their legs, rightfully so as the weather was hot. The rain never came to cool the earth as it did back home, where the clouds trapped pockets of heat and humidity in some places, cold and snow in others. For once, Sayeh missed the variety of her world.

"We don't have all day," Sayeh heard behind her. She looked up, finding Riku standing beside the train. With a sheepish smile, she followed after and boarded.

The train ride took longer than expected. It felt like hours when thirty minutes may have passed. Riku stood and stared out the window the whole time. Across the aisle sat Sayeh with her arms crossed, bouncing one leg absentmindedly. Her stomach flipped from both hunger and anxiety.

She followed him into the tower, isolated on a small patch of evergreen grass with bushes outlining the edges. Inside, the tower was a set of ivory stairs leading into a sparkling portal. Hesitation absent in his walk, he proceeded into the portal. Sayeh stopped right before, considering it, then fell in.

Another set of stairs. Another portal.

Another set of stairs. Yet another portal.

Finally, the last portal lead to a door, which lead to the sorcerer mentioned.

"Riku…" The sorcerer said slowly, his beady eyes trailing over to Sayeh. "…and Sayeh."

Riku nodded. "Master Yen Sid, we need to know if she—"

Master Yen Sid started as if Riku never begun. "I've been expecting you Sayeh. I sense tragedy on you, born from the darkness in your heart."

Sayeh averted her gaze to her feet, feeling naked—the sorcerer was indeed a brilliant one if he already knew the worst about her.

"Do not make assumptions, for your heart seeks the right path. Everything is connected, and there is no mistake in your constitution. You were destined to meet."

Riku scoffed quietly.

"The stars are honest and forthcoming. It can be humbling when you understand them," Master Yen Sid said pointedly before continuing. "The darkness is necessary for order to exist in the universe. Darkness does not equate to evil. There are creatures of light that have also threatened the natural order. There are creatures in between that currently threaten the natural order. It will take both the light and the dark to return to harmony."

"So what does _she_ have to do with me?"

"Some creatures exist to filter one element into the other. Some can take light and turn it into darkness. The Heartless are capable of such a thing. Some, like Sayeh can use the darkness and return it to light. Her power lies in your darkness, Riku."

Riku's mouth fell open, a small gasp escaping. Sayeh was unsure how to react. She did not understand the ramifications of it all.

"Master Yen Sid," Sayeh started politely, "I still don't understand what this all means. All I knew was my world. And…" _I killed my friend_.

With a wave of his hand, Master Yen Sid summoned three books, each a different color.

"Reading this will increase your understanding."

While Riku and Master Yen Sid spoke, Sayeh sat on a small stool against the wall with two tomes at her feet and the heaviest in her lap. She read all about the Heartless, the Nobodies, and the affairs of the universe as chronicled by the sorcerer. The books also explained things like Keyblades, the powers of Light and Dark, and Yen Sid's personal philosophy on those powers. Sayeh slowed her reading when her eyes fell on Riku's name.

"Uh…Riku, you're in this book."

"What?" He walked over and looked where Sayeh pointed.

"It says you were a henchman for someone named…Malef…Maleficent?"

Before Riku could reply, three colorful beings flew into the room from a door they had not opened. Each creature had wings and old but cheerful faces. Sayeh had read stories in school about creatures like these, remembering the term fairies.

The blue one cringed and moaned, "Ooh, that Maleficent!"

"Now, now dear," the red one replied, "Maleficent is long gone."

If Riku did not have a stick in his butt before, he definitely did now, as his broad shoulders scrunched together under the squeaking leather of his black coat. Sayeh shrunk in his presence and almost physically felt his rage building. She slammed the heavy book shut as she came to a stand, barely finding balance. "M-Master Yen Sid, I think I'm finished for now."

Master Yen Sid nodded with understanding. The last book, labeled "Magic Spells", he urged to take with her. "You will have difficulty with the spells, but they are powerful once mastered."

"Now for my favorite part!" The blue fairy exclaimed, ushering Sayeh into the room from whence they came.

In the center of the floor was a pedestal, and a mannequin stood beside a massive mirror. Within seconds of stepping onto the pedestal, flashes of blue, red, and green fell upon her, along with wisps of air from the magic cast.

For minutes, the fairies fought over color. They had yet to fix her garments, like the tear in the shoulder or the hole in the knee of her trousers. The only concern was red, blue, or green. Sayeh occasionally looked over her shoulder to see if her embarrassment was shared, but fortunately, the door has closed behind her, leaving Sayeh alone with the hysterical designers.

"I'm sorry," she cut in, "Can I at least have my clothes fixed first?"

The fairies gasped as they realized their mistake. Instead of getting carried away with color and design, they should have first repaired her current garments. With an instant zap, threads appeared to intertwine, sewing the pieces that were torn. Sayeh's bare shoulder was no longer visible. The garments were also clean, as if never previously worn. The short black tunic hemmed with gold and blue fell just to her knees, which were now covered by new black trousers.

A strange idea popped into Sayeh's head and instantly fell out of her mouth. "Can we add stuff to my clothes?"

"Of course, dear—do you have anything in mind?"

"Well first, I want to add to the design…"

The green fairy piped up, "If you picture it in your mind's eye, the magic will do the rest!"

Sayeh imagined Azara's favorite outfit, similar to the one she wore that tragic day. Not only was the hem embellished, but so were the sleeves; ornate, hand-stitched roses and swirls in gold circled the collar and fell into a "V" shape down the front. Unlike Azara's billowing tunic, she thought of one Azara had bought her, which was stayed knee-length in the front and long in the back. The only thing she was unsure of was the appropriate choice of fabric, but she trusted the fairies' judgment on anything that was not relevant to color. In dedication to Azara, she thought before nodding to the fairies.

Her mental image came to life as golden thread crawled across her chest, weaving into the fabric just like Azara's. The length of the tunic was comfortable—of course, there was nothing wrong with the length before, it was just something to make it pretty that was, hopefully, manageable.

"How lovely!" The green fairy exclaimed.

"Now, dear, we were instructed to add some necessary elements to your attire. When you are at your worst, your defense will increase. The clothes also provide some protection from the darkness—"

"I thought I'm supposed to be in contact with darkness…?"

"Too much will overwhelm you, and can lead to adverse reactions. The garments also regenerate on their own. You'll never worry about another tear or snag again!"

Sayeh chuckled, reminded of salesman in the market just outside her old school. "Thank you so much for fixing these," she replied, motioning to her body.

"Take good care of yourself, dear," the blue fairy said with a smile before Sayeh returned to Master Yen Sid and Riku.

"Good as new," Sayeh mumbled. "What's next? Where do I start with this magic thing?"

She approached the books she left before. As soon as she made to grab the spellbook, the front cover leapt open, followed by several pages whipping around until the right page was found. On Master Yen Sid's face grew a knowing grin. He wanted her to look at a specific page, the smile implied.

On the page was the first lesson, titled, "How to Draw Energy". It suggested she focus her mind on the target energy, and imagine the energy leaving from their body. The last and final step was touching the person.

She would have to touch Riku.

Sayeh swallowed hard. Riku was already intimidating without her invading his personal space, but Master Yen Sid's expression urged her to try. This was her first magic lesson, one she would need to be a reliable asset, or even, an ally.

Shifting in place, she closed her eyes and exhaled. A measly energy snaked up from the pit of her belly, but once courage took root, a full current swirled about her body. It was hot and cold at the same time, burning and icy, refreshing but weakening. After she opened her eyes, Sayeh reached straight for Riku's arm and gripped it with unforeseen strength.

A delightful stream dazed the heat of her own energy and quelled its neediness. She heard Riku audibly gasp; he must have felt it too. In her mind's eye, she saw blue energy mix with red and form a bright purple before it grew on her skin, a coating of electrifying power. Riku wrenched away from her, disturbed even when the colors died down.

"What do I do now?"

"That is up to you," Master Yen Sid answered. "You can spend it however you want."

"Like munny?"

"No," Riku snapped, "Like energy. You can use it for magic, he's saying."

After they thanked Master Yen Sid for his help, Sayeh took the lent book and followed Riku back to the purple train. He allowed her to go first, avoiding any close contact with her. She figured it had to do with the magic. She stole from him, Sayeh realized. Even though Master Yen Sid urged her to do it, she should have asked. Thinking of how to apologize took up the first fifteen minutes of the ride back.

"Riku," she started, but he cut her off.

"Don't apologize. It's no big deal." He never stopped looking out the window with his arms crossed.

"But—"

"Stop." There was stress in his tone, she heard it. She did not understand how, but she did.

"It wasn't right. I'll ask your permission from now on."

"It doesn't matter, now stop talking about it."

"It matters to me, because I wouldn't want that either." After a few minutes transpired, Sayeh asked, "Why were you in that book?"

He never answered. With a sigh, she opened the spellbook and started reading.

Once they were back in Twilight Town, the never-setting sun replaced the purplish skies, the uncomfortable mix of red and blue. Riku walked ahead of her, obviously mad. She paid him no mind. Sayeh guessed she would have to wait it out.

Outside the train station, the landing overlooked the town. When they were leaving, it was full of people; coming back, there was no one. Nobody was there.

First, there was a taste, then a smell. It was made of darkness and decadence. A metallic tinge hung onto the end of the scent, adding a sense of familiarity. As soon as Sayeh smelled it, so did Riku. The only difference was Riku was prepared.

From nowhere flew a projectile of light, hitting Sayeh straight in the shoulder and knocking her from her feet. Within seconds, she felt panic erupt from her belly, and purple radiated from her body as she fell to the ground.

The first spell in the book after the drawing energy lesson was one to push it out. It warned about using it without some level of calmness, but she would have to forego it now. Her shoulder burned with intensity unlike anything else. The pain flared through her chest, made her grit her teeth. And for a second, she thought she would die.

A man in a black coat appeared from nowhere, tearing his hood from his head to reveal his graying ponytail and trademark eyepatch. Sayeh recognized him from her world, seconds before its demise. He fired a few lasers at Riku, and while Riku was fast enough to dodge them immediately, he could not run from them all. A flick of the man's finger and they surrounded Riku, rendering him a reluctant hostage.

"Boy, aren't you a sneaky one," the man said, approaching a backpedaling Sayeh. "You were supposed to vanish with the rest of them, but hey, you made it. But don't go around thinking you're special."

"…Y-you destroyed everything," Sayeh squeaked when her back hit the railing of the landing. "You let my world die."

"As if," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "That blast from the past? A sneeze could've sent it spiraling out of control. Someone didn't pay attention in history class!"

That last comment made Sayeh's anger flare; just like when she was back in her world, her energy would go out and find something to break when she did not control it. Her energy found its way back to the train station and jumped into the windows, hitting them hard enough to form webs of cracks in the glass. When it caught Eyepatch's attention, it made him laugh.

"Hey, now that's cool! I think I saw you do that before you killed your little friend—"

"You bastard!" Sayeh shouted, and her hand flew up almost instinctively. An orb of energy expanded in her palm, but before she could launch it, a laser dart pinned the sleeve of her good arm against the bricks in the railing. She cried out in surprise, earning more laughter by Eyepatch.

Riku took that opportunity of distraction to summon his weapon, a dark, winged sword, and leap from between all the laser projectiles. He lunged for Eyepatch, wanting to land at least one hit. He caught Eyepatch unaware and was able to knock him back. Eyepatch swore behind him as he zoomed towards Sayeh. Riku opened a Corridor of Darkness, grabbed Sayeh's bad arm and wrenched her through the portal.

In the darkness, Sayeh fell to her knees, cradling her bad arm. She blinked away the tears, somewhat angry that Riku would grab her bad arm instead of her good one.

"That hurt," was all she could manage to say with all the high emotions swirling in her body. She glanced around, but could see nothing. She could sense Riku's presence, but only if she concentrated.

"I had no choice," he replied, adjusting his coat in the dark. "Your other arm was pinned."

"Who even was that? He was there when my world went under."

Riku shrugged. "I don't know his name, but he's part of the Organization. And he's strong. I would've fought him, but you were in the way."

That irritated her. "In the way? He had you in a circle of ammo! I'm not useless, I'm just new to all this. Sorry I'm such a drag—"

"That's not what I meant," he interrupted, searching his pockets by touch. He hoped to feel the slippery surface of a glass potion bottle, but was disappointed. "Damn it. I must've ran out."

"Of what?"

"Of potions. For your shoulder," Riku sighed, "You'll have to wait until we get back…"

His voice lingered on the last word as he sensed her over, concerned for the wound in her shoulder. Riku remembered nothing sticking out of it, so the laser projectile must have glanced but scratched her. On the other hand, she was new to this game. Even though she arrived in Twilight Town in a severe state, it did not mean she was used to it. Riku surmised her endorphins were kicking in, along with a huge adrenaline rush. She may not even know how bad it hurts.

He crouched beside her and gently peeled the collar of her tunic back to scan the damage. Sayeh immediately tensed and leaned away—he could hear her heart beating through her chest—but he ignored the act.

Sayeh could feel the heat of his skin, he was so close. He pulled her collar down, exposing more skin than she was comfortable showing, even in darkness. But she understood why he did within seconds. On her shoulder was a deep scratch out of which blood oozed. Because her clothes were dark, she could not see it on the fabric earlier, and mistook the wetness for sweat. Now that she knew it was there, she realized she could smell it. Sayeh could already feel it, but acknowledging the wound made it worse.

She fought the urge to cry out, considering she wanted to stay in control her mind and body, and also out of fear of complete darkness. Sayeh found herself clinging to Riku instead. This time he did not push her away. He allowed her to clutch at his sleeve as he guided her through the darkness.

The Corridor lead right into the Mansion, and both were thankful for it. Sayeh let go of Riku's sleeve and went back to cradling her awful shoulder and its throbbing pain. They found DiZ in the basement working like usual and told him of all the news while Naminé went into town for potions. Sayeh admired the strange way DiZ could continue working and thinking while listening. Occasionally, he would nod in response or make a small grunt here and there, or make a dry remark.

"And how do you feel about this?" DiZ aimed his question at Sayeh. He even stopped working to look at her when she answered. "Surely, you feel some way about the mess you've been thrust into."

"I…I don't know what to think. I can't think over the pain, but…I want to be on the right side. It seems like I am, compared to Eyepatch."

"Eyepatch?" DiZ stared at Sayeh.

"The Nobody who attacked us. He wears an eyepatch."

DiZ returned to his work, pecking away at the keyboard again. "You refer to Xigbar. Number II of Organization XIII."

Naminé rushed in with a grocery bag full of potions. She dove her hand into the collection and pulled one out, shoving it into Sayeh's hand. "Drink it, quickly, before your injury gets worse."

Sayeh tipped back the bottle. Bitter chunks of green assaulted her sense of taste; she nearly puked it back into the potion. The more she drank, the less she felt, and soon after, the scratch closed up, good as new. "Blegh."

Riku disappeared after that. Naminé went back to her drawings, and DiZ continued programming. Sayeh lied on her bed and eyed the spellbook on her dresser. Back home, they would never dream of giving someone like her a myriad of spells to play around with. Master Yen Sid must have a lot of faith in her. She grabbed the book and plopped back on her bed, flipping through pages upon pages. A fire spell caught her eye, and she wondered if she could light the candelabra on the desk in the corner. She read the instructions, memorized the incantation, and focused her energy into lighting each of the six candles. The first candle took several tries, but once she mastered the first three, Sayeh was able to light the last three altogether.

Sayeh squealed with delight at the ease at which she could do it. Her first real spell! Well, technically her second, but still. She left her room to ask Naminé where Riku was.

"I think he's in his room, which is on the other end of the mansion, above the basement."

She wanted to show how valuable she was becoming in so little time. They could be a team, and he would have a worthy partner! Without thinking, she rapped on his door and waited for him to open.

Riku opened the door and she immediately blurted, "I learned a new—"

The last word never left her throat. She was caught. She was stunned.

In his doorway stood Riku, but there was no black coat with a hood that hid his face. Instead, there was a black vest, tan arms showing. That was not even the best part.

Shaggy, silver hair hung around and over his face. His eyes, which she never recalled seeing up to that point, were somewhere between green and blue.

"Yeah?"

"I-I learned a new spell."

The color of Riku's eyes did not exist in her world. But it would now. And it would be her favorite color.

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**I'm sorry this took forever for me to get finished with. I put it out without revising, shame on me. I just wanted it out. If you catch anything, you're welcome to let me know. Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Lazy Afternoons

Chapter 3 Lazy Afternoons

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**Attention: Triggers ahead. I didn't put it in the previous chapter because I did not mention much, but I thought I would at least put it in here, because I go into detail. I'll section off the trigger, so you may skip over it, if you'd like. For others not concerned by triggers, please bear with those who do, thank you!**

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Blue eyes, silver hair, tan skin.

Sayeh remembered growing up with Azara pointing out guys she thought were cute, or boys that "would go great with Sayeh's personality", whatever that meant. She never felt that way about someone because she figured it would never be reciprocated. Sayeh was dark-skinned with dark powers. She was a walking billboard for the darkness.

Once when Azara was thirteen, she invited boys over to their room. Puberty had taken its toll on Azara, slowly adding to her hips and to her chest—she got it in all the right places. Her only problem was a constant onset of pimples. Sayeh, on the other hand, had grown taller with a large bust, a long torso, and thick thighs. She remembered praying for hips like Azara's so the boys would swoon over her, but those prayers went unanswered, until that day.

Azara grabbed the lighter, mundane boy and shoved the dark-skinned boy to Sayeh. Ironically, he seemed interested in her. It was the first time she ever received attention from a boy and it excited her until his touch made her uncomfortable. He grabbed in places she did not like and Sayeh lost control of her powers in an instant.

On the boy's lap in her bed, Azara looked up with a residual dreamy look on her face, her lips shining from the mixed saliva. She snapped at the other boy for touching Sayeh when she saw Sayeh's horrific expression, and spent the rest of the night trying to make up for her desire to makeout. From that point on, Azara never forced Sayeh into anything she did not want, not even with boys.

How the circumstances have changed. Sayeh wished Azara could see her now, see the dreams she had about the boy down the hallway. She hoped she could adopt Azara's charm, since she could not adopt the body shape.

With body in mind, Sayeh hopped from her bed, wiped dust from a standing mirror with her hands and stripped before it, hoping to appreciate what she saw. Instead, she found herself looking at high hips that never fully filled out, far from the coveted hourglass shape. Her rear was smaller than she wanted, her breasts bigger than she wanted, though they were still proportional with consideration of her long torso. She abandoned her reflection with obvious dissatisfaction. The boy down the hall would never fall in love with someone with a shape like that. The worst part was all the weight she shed, all the food she fought to ignore just to get closer to her ideal image.

"You had it lucky, Azara. Still do, it seems," Sayeh murmured aloud, redressing. Worrying about her shape deemed useless, so she worried about her overwhelming hunger instead. She did so much magic last night, it sapped her energy and made it more difficult to ignore her appetite. Sayeh needed food desperately; recalling the grocery store in Market Street, she braided her hair before leaving the Mansion for food.

Life in Twilight Town started early—even the people her age were out and about, running errands, working jobs, or looking for early-bird specials. Sayeh caught the tram with a few kids, one girl and two boys who chattered incessantly between them all. The girl was about her size, sitting beside her with her ankles crossed. The boys slouched in seats across the aisle, babbling about a "Struggle Tournament". When the girl offered words of encouragement for the upcoming matches, Sayeh noticed the blonde boy in grey and green took the words seriously. The words inflated his ego and also added to his obvious attraction to the brunette. Sayeh fought to keep Riku off her mind.

"Um, excuse me," Sayeh started, catching the brunette's attention. "I'm from out of town…what's the best takeout? I'm not much of a chef, but I need to feed three or four people…"

"Out of town?" The brown-haired boy in a jersey repeated. "You must live on the beach! Explains the wicked tan."

"Ugh, we need to get to the beach when summer vacation hits," the blonde one noted aloud.

The brown-haired boy's eyes glazed over as a grin grew on his face. "If you're looking for breakfast, though, the best place will always and forever be Heartilly Hotcakes. It's a small breakfast joint ran by a girl named Rinoa. She's Seifer's girlfriend.

"I can't believe someone thought that was a good idea."

The girl beside Sayeh started in an admonishing tone, "Hayner…"

"Oh, I forgot that's your crush. Sorry Olette."

"N-no, he's not!" Flustered, Olette returned her attention to Sayeh. "Just ignore them. We're actually on our way over to a store near Heartilly Hotcakes, if you want us to take you there. By the way, I'm Olette. This is Pence, and Hayner."

"Yo," Hayner saluted in greeting. "What's your name?"

"Ehm…" At first, Sayeh debated on whether she should give her real name. These people seemed friendly enough, and it was never her nature to lie. "Sayeh."

Pence smiled, "Sounds fancy."

"Not really." She was telling the truth. In her world, her name was an ancient word associated with dark things. If anything, it was considered an unpopular name, because of its connotation. Names like Azara and Banu worked better for girls, because they had positive connotations and no association with the darkness. It also meant Sayeh's parents knew from the get-go. Or maybe it was simply irony…

An announcement over the intercom that they were arriving on the other side of Market Street broke Sayeh's thoughts and returned her to the cable car slowing to allow passengers off. Sayeh and her three new acquaintances ambled off the tram. The Heartilly Hotcakes logo flashed above the restaurant space, indicating its availability to customers.

"It was nice meeting you, Sayeh!" Olette laced her fingers in front of her chest, offering a genuine smile. "I hope we see you around."

"Yeah!" Pence agreed. "There's a Struggle tournament in the sandlot a few days from now. If you're not doing anything, you can hang with us there! Me and Hayner will be competing."

Hayner folded his arms and smirked. "And I'll be winning! And Seifer will have to bow down to me and admit he's the biggest loser of them all!"

"What's that, dweeb?"

Sayeh heard a deep, sarcastic tone behind her. She whirled around, not realizing she would meet another person with a scar on his face. Her initial reaction was to panic and run, but logic kicked in. This guy's coat was big and white, not black. There was no hood, but he wore a knitted cap on his head, embellished with a foreign symbol on it. Sayeh also found it strange his midriff showed under a cropped blue shirt. No one would ever wear that in her world.

"You're new," the guy regarded her from the end of his nose, though it incited no reaction from Sayeh. "I'd be careful if I were you. These lamers will turn you into one of them."

"Oh yeah?" Hayner puffed out his chest and fronted Seifer.

"Um…I'm gonna get those, er…cakes now," Sayeh mumbled, pointing at the restaurant as she stepped out of the way. She could hear Hayner getting louder and wanted to help, but she also needed to get food for her team.

Upon entering the store, she noticed the wooden booths with blue seats. The walls were also blue, with posters claiming the hotcakes were "heavenly", and sets of angel wings randomly hung around the restaurant. A few customers talked quietly over their breakfast while a girl slightly older than her called orders to the chef in the back. When Sayeh approached the cashier counter, the girl immediately tended to her. "Good morning, what can I help you with?"

Sayeh did not respond right away; she checked the menu before ordering four breakfast platters for take-out. "And if you can handle that situation out there," she jabbed a thumb behind her, "that would also be great."

The girl laughed, "Seifer is always picking on those three. Rinoa, by the way. I don't think I've seen you around."

"Sayeh," She answered. "And no, I'm from out of town."

"Oh? Visiting?"

"Actually, I just moved in," Sayeh's voice wavered. It was true, however she looked at it. "Hayner, Pence and Olette were showing me to your restaurant, said you had the best hotcakes in town."

"Yes we do! I'll have your order ready in a moment."

With the food ready to leave, Sayeh checked outside for the trio she met on the tram. They were nowhere to be seen, so she assumed they left for whatever store they were going to. However, Sayeh made it outside and noticed the unsettling silence. No one was around like they were before.

Suddenly, she heard Olette scream. Sayeh dropped the bag of food and ran in Olette's direction.

Within a tunnel Sayeh found Olette hunched in a corner, arms up in defense, and the boys unconscious on the ground with blue foam bats rolling beside their hands. Skittering around the trio were five, ant-like shadows.

"It's okay, Olette! Just relax. I'll take care of them."

She wanted to be assuring, but even she was unsure if she could do like she hoped. When one took notice, the rest followed suit and scattered in all directions.

Sayeh focused on the stillest Heartless and launched fire in its direction. It dodged with ease, becoming a shadow on the ground and dissolving away to find another place to appear. Another Heartless lunged to scratch Sayeh but she moved out of the way and threw fire at it. This time, the target was close enough for a spot-on hit and faded away.

Before she knew it, she was getting the hang of battle—she dodged and weaved, albeit clumsily, but quick enough to outsmart the Heartless trying to surround her. Occasionally she tripped, and if they all got too close, she spun and released flames in all directions, a move that cost her more energy than she liked. In her gut Sayeh knew releasing one infernal finale would be enough to destroy the remaining enemies.

Sayeh drew a large circle around herself with her finger and forced the last trickle of energy left into it, causing flames to shoot up into a large haphazard dome and incinerate everything within except her. And like that, the Heartless were defeated. She was so proud of herself for being able to handle a battle on her own, without Riku. Granted, most of her energy was taken from Riku, and was probably much stronger because of that. It would also explain the sagging of her shoulders, the near-hyperventilation panting, and the sudden onset of stiffness in her joints. Her energy was underdeveloped, weaker than Riku's. Perhaps, in the future, she would use her own until it was necessary to use his.

In her haste to rescue Olette, she forgot that this world may not be accustomed to magic like her old one. Olette stood in the corner, trembling from what she just saw. Her reaction made Sayeh uncomfortable, squeamish, even. It was as if Olette viewed her as the kids from her world used to—a person capable of dark, evil things, with dark, evil skin. She found herself adjusting her clothes and twisting her ash-covered hands.

"T-thank you," Olette croaked, eyes still very wide. "I…I can't believe what I just saw. That was…"

"Yeah, I know," Sayeh answered, though she did not truly know. She assumed she knew. "Can we keep this between me and you? I only did it because I wanted to save you from those things. Do they come here often?"

"Every now and again," the other girl dusted her pants off and examined her friends over. "But never during the day."

How Olette could tell the difference between night and day in the world was beyond Sayeh.

"You're a…magician? You can use magic?"

"Sort of, I guess," Sayeh shrugged. "I'm just finding out about it. I'm not dangerous, I promise."

Olette offered a half-smile as she tried to shake Hayner awake. When Sayeh moved to wake Pence, she felt Olette's energy, how uncomfortable she became with Sayeh's proximity. No anger could be felt, only uncertainty.

Pence was easier to wake than Hayner, and the second he asked what happened, both girls claimed they did not know. "Whoa! There's fire marks all the way up the wall!"

The girls looked back, followed the charred patterns to the ceiling. A circle had been burned into the floor, which was also difficult to ignore, but the girls feigned ignorance.

Once Hayner was up and about, Sayeh returned to her takeout and started on her way across Market Street towards the woods. A voice behind her stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait, Sayeh!"

Sayeh turned on her heel. It was Olette. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, I was a little rude back there," Olette twisted her fingers between each other. "I've never seen anything before like that. You did save my life though, so thank you. I wouldn't be here without you."

"Yeah, the boys wouldn't have anyone to pick on. And Seifer would be out of people to bully."

Olette chuckled. "Very true. Are we still friends?"

_Still _friends? The phrase caught Sayeh off guard. She regarded them as acquaintances, not full friends. The thought was nice, even flattering, she thought at she made her way back to the Mansion.

Inside Naminé was taking a break from sketching, complaining her drawing hand was sore. DiZ sat in his lab in the basement, and Riku was nowhere to be found. Sayeh shouted, announcing food in the dining room, and immediately everyone piled in. It seemed almost humorous to Sayeh, the fact that people who come from different backgrounds can be united with the power of food. Sayeh opened the bag of foam containers, passing one to each Mansion member, along with plastic cutlery bundled in their own bags.

"Hotcakes?" Naminé looked at her container with bewilderment. Sayeh suddenly felt self-conscious, as if she made a mistake by getting hotcakes instead of something else.

"Are they not good? They were supposed to be the best in town…"

No one answered. It was quiet, but in a good way; everyone worked through their piles of hotcakes—DiZ, especially, who breathed noisily with every bite at the end of the table. Naminé smacked at random intervals. Riku ate in silence, shuffling hotcake pieces around before eating them. Sayeh gazed at him from over the foam container lid, again stunned by his lovely eyes, as he had foregone his blindfold for the moment. Often, he had to push his shaggy hair from his face so he could eat.

Riku looked up at her in the middle of a bite, and she realized she was staring. "Good?" she asked, trying to turn the embarrassment on him, implying he was eating them voraciously when in fact he ate at an average pace without a sense of urgency. He nodded and returned to his place, turning the box to scrape the foam walls.

Later Sayeh went to her room and crashed on her bed. She did not fall asleep, but definitely was not awake, just somewhere in between. Randomly, an arm or a leg would jerk, waking her for a few seconds before she fell back into sleeping limbo. A knock at the door announced Naminé, who stood at the foot of the bed.

"Hi, Naminé," Sayeh said groggily. "What do you need?"

Naminé shook her head. "Just trying to find something to do, since my hand hurts too much to draw."

"Is DiZ going to have a problem with that—why _do_ you have to draw?" Sayeh sat up in her bed, then patted on it to beckon Naminé. "Master Yen Sid gave me a history book to look at, but when I got to a part about Riku, I stopped reading it. What did he do?"

Naminé stared at her blankly, unsure how to answer, so Sayeh elaborated.

"Sora, Riku, and Kairi, right? They all lived on some islands, and a storm took their world away. Sora was giving the Keyblade and Kairi was…messed up somehow from it. I got to a part that talking about Riku obtaining power. When I asked about it, he didn't look too happy."

"…It may not be my place to answer that, Sayeh."

"But you said we were similar, him and I. It must have to do with darkness. Master Yen Sid even talked about his darkness. So I know he's got it. Did he do something bad, like me?"

Naminé wrung her hands. "W-well, all four of us have done something bad, but we want to fix it. I draw because the Organization wanted me to destroy Sora's memories. I'm putting them back together."

"So the memories will return Sora back to normal? Where is he? Is he sleeping?"

After telling Naminé where she could find Sora, she left for a bath. Sayeh went to the basement, past DiZ who paid her no mind, and into the deepest parts of the lab. More tubes like the one she was in lined the walls. Close to a door, two occupied tubes held something like a large bird and an upright canine. The bird one held a frustrated expression, as if he was easily annoyed by things around him. The canine one slept with goofy smile plastered on his face. The history book said Sora traveled with two companions, so these two had to be Donald and Goofy. Donald was a magician and Goofy a knight, both from another world.

Sayeh continued to the next room, all white, with a pod, designed like a budding flower, stood centered within. Sora, a boy with brown spiky hair in outgrown red romper floated in the pod, his face void of any expression other than sleepy tranquility.

"You're not how I imagined you would look."

Sora was a hero who saved the Realm of Light, but he was short and scrawny. It confused Sayeh to think a can-do attitude and friends carried this boy through a journey that saved many worlds. But his smell was something sweet and pure, like flowers. Sayeh audibly chuckled to herself.

She pressed a hand to the glass of the pod. It was warm to the touch, with a fizzling sensation where her skin held the most contact. The longer she held it there, the more she felt like she knew Sora, though she did not. When she took her hand away, she stared at it for a while, remnants of the sensations embedded in her palm.

"I used to think I was stronger than him," a voice said behind her, startling her from her thoughts. Riku approached in black coat and blindfold. Unlike when they went to Master Yen Sid, he kept his hood down. "But the decisions I made were weak. I used to blame the darkness for making me weak, but really it was me. Because of that, the worlds were almost destroyed. I betrayed my best friend."

So that was his supposed crime. At one point in time, Riku was no better than Xigbar, who allowed her own world to end. But Xigbar did it intentionally, and destroyed not only her world but her best friend. The way Riku spoke now, with such regret in his voice, meant he realized his error.

"Naminé told me what she did with Sora's memories, and how she is trying to fix it," Sayeh began. "How are you trying to fix your mistake?"

It was the most frank question ever to leave her lips. As soon as it did, she saw Riku's shoulders bunch with tension. "I have to find Sora's Nobody and destroy it."

While not visible to the eye, his energy swirled about him, a self-contained envelopment of intense emotions. Sayeh winced when she felt it, because she realized how strong he was when flares touched her own energy. It was different when she took it from him; the book said it was a safe transaction if done correctly. If Sayeh was panicked and low in health, taking his energy could possibly result in something terrible for both parties. This contact was unadulterated, raw and savage. Sayeh hesitated to look him in the face after she felt it, and Riku understood.

To say her reaction upset him was an understatement. Once again, he put himself in a place to be regarded as daunting, when really they were the same. He could feel her emotions when they shifted, although her emotions were more contained than his. She grew up knowing how to hold them in, he surmised from Naminé's briefing on Sayeh's background. So why did this dark power, the one they shared, scare her? He wanted her to understand. She must understand.

But now was not the time. It would have to be later. DiZ was sending Riku out to check on a potential lead in another world. He hoped it would be Roxas, so Sora could wake up already.

Riku opened a Dark Corridor and silently ambled through before vanishing.

There was nothing going on at the Mansion, and Sayeh did not want to stare at her teammates all day, so she thought it best to take the train back to Master Yen Sid's tower. She found him at his desk with a tall cup of tea, chronicling on what the stars told him daily.

"You have returned," Master Yen Sid stated more than asked. He lowered his quill into the inkwell and folded his hands on the table.

Sayeh nodded, "Yes, Master. I wanted to ask for clarification on some spells and…on Riku."

Master Yen Sid lifted his drink to his lips before beckoning her to continue. From under her arm she produced the tome of spells given to her a day ago. She explained that some of the basic spells she tried to practice did not work. All she could use at this point was fire and dark magic.

"Learning magic is a process that takes a very long time," he responded slowly. "You are only capable of dark and fire magic at this time. I sense your exhaustion from recent efforts."

Taken aback, she stuttered as she recounted today's Heartless encounter while he stroked his long beard. "…And Olette was scared of me at the end. It made me feel…wild."

"Your energy is unbridled, but controllable. Your burden is easier than Riku's, but only because you have yet to unlock all your potential."

"About Riku," Sayeh started. "I felt his energy when I took it from him, and it was the ultimate rush. But when he told me about what he did…to Sora…" She shook her head. "He did some bad stuff, didn't he?"

"He is learning from his mistakes. His burden is great. But if he is successful…" Master Yen Sid trailed off. "Riku will only be successful if you are able to help him. Training is absolutely necessary. Several years ago, I knew a Master closer to your age that excelled in combative magic. It is unfortunate that she is no longer with us."

"Mm. Is there a way to make it faster or more effective? I can tell the difference between using my energy and using Riku's."

"There are some ways to permanently increase your strength and endurance," Master Yen Sid closed his eyes and sighed, "But the increase is negligible in most cases."

With a wave of his hand, four bottles appeared. One contained a bright red swirling, cloudy mass. Another was a sparkling teal mixture with less cloudiness. The third and fourth bottle were mixtures of all sorts of colors; the third bottle contained pocket-sized stars within it, and the fourth containing a variety of feathers.

"This one," motioning to the first one, "Will increase your physical strength. You may not engage in combat the way Riku does, but it is important for quick evasions. The next one will help you gain abilities quicker, like spells you are currently unable to do. This one with stars may be the most important, as it unlocks your magical endurance. Your spells may become stronger without burdening your stamina. The last increases your natural tolerance taking damage. You will be less prone to sustained damage later."

"So…wouldn't the Defense Boost be the most important right now? Because I'm not strong yet?"

Master Yen Sid smiled. "Those are the decisions you will have to make on your journey. What decisions are the most important? What is more important now or important later? Those are things you will have to decide. You are welcome to all these, but I would not ingest them all immediately."

At first, the training started with ease. Master Yen Sid reviewed with her the spells she already knew to do and helped her refine the spells. When she cast a fire spell at the Heartless that morning, Master Yen Sid told her she used too much energy and that her aim suffered as a result. In the parlor where the fairies dressed her, he created magical moving targets for Sayeh to fire at. With every round, he encouraged her to forgo ethers in hopes of expanding her stamina. Of course, when she started, he gave her one because of her morning.

Eventually, she gave in to exhaustion, collapsing on her knees as her body wavered. She looked up at Master Yen Sid, who showed no emotions favoring disappointment or surprise. It was expected of someone as new as Sayeh to exhaust quickly.

"Is there some way to get rid of my exhaustion completely? So I can keep training?" She asked between pants. She watched a knowing smile spread on Master Yen Sid's face.

**[Trigger Warning]**

"Rest," he answered plainly, and waved his hands towards the corner of the room. A table with a variety of sweets, teas, and other delicious foods materialized before he finished with, "And food. I have noticed in several ways that you are not mindful of your health."

Sayeh crossed her arms over her chest, understanding what he meant. No, she did not eat often. She had spent the rest of the day here, training, but only have a few of the hotcakes she bought this morning. The way she saw herself in the mirror was, on a good day, average. Every day was a fight against how awful she was for being "dark", how ugly she felt as a result, and how she ignored her body's most natural needs.

The side effects of starving her body were terrible at first. Now, her body did not respond, anticipating the good days where she might have a hotcake or two. It used to be paralyzing stomach aches, mind-blowing head pain, and constant vertigo. After a while her body gave up, adapted, and got used to being ignored.

"It is our actions that define our power, not the mere essence of it. Riku is the best of examples." Master Yen Sid returned to his chair behind the desk covered in books. "Helping Riku lies in first helping yourself. We cannot help others without satisfying the most basic of our needs. Your training cannot continue without adequate rest and diet."

She hated that he was right. Sayeh hated feeling naked, exposed, and ashamed for what she did to her own body. There was so much over the years that led to it, and letting go was hard to do. Could she do it? Probably, but with difficulty. Sitting down at the table of food and eating all she could was undoubtedly tempting—she was so hungry, when she thought about it—but knew there was only so much Sayeh could consume without throwing up. All it would take was the intention to give in, and to give up her starvation. It would take that first step.

Who would she do it for? Riku, she guessed, but only because helping him would help save the universe. Azara, because she tried many times what Master Yen Sid was doing now. A small voice in the back of her head claimed it was for her, and her right to live the way she deserves. All that control lost, and she could gain it back.

**[Trigger Over]**

Master Yen Sid spent the fourth consecutive day of Sayeh's ongoing training going into detail on the power of Darkness, and how she could utilize it advantageously. Many of her elemental magic spells could be combined with darkness, and were especially effective with darkness.

"Why would darkness work on darkness?" Sayeh wondered aloud.

Master Yen Sid grinned as he did every time she asked a wonderful question. Only this time, he did not answer. Feeling the presence of another enter the room, he waited, as if the arriving person would answer.

"Because Heartless can only tolerate so much darkness," Riku stated matter-of-factly. "Hearts can endure darkness more than Heartless can, and since they have no hearts, there's a tolerance threshold. Overload them with darkness, and they lose their existence."

"Okay…"

"Confused?"

"Yes, very much so."

Riku shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You've been gone for four days. I was hoping you weren't slacking off."

"Four?!" Sayeh stared at Master Yen Sid with a slacked jaw. Behind her, the air swiped a book from the table and threw it on the floor. She lost control in her moment of tiredness and shock. Sayeh got to her feet and returned the book to the desk. "Sorry…No wonder I feel the way I do."

"You'll get used to it. Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Master Yen Sid," she bowed her head towards the elderly man. "I'll return for more training soon."

"Before you leave, I have something for you. A gift, for completing some training." From the oversized sleeves of his robes, Master Yen Sid produced a small ring, laid with small diamonds in the center of each silver heart that made the band. "It will add to the abilities you already know."

"Thank you, Master Yen Sid. I will see you soon."

Riku and Sayeh approached the purple training waiting outside the tower. Riku immediately noticed fatigue in her gait, possibly more. Her feet did not fall in line each time, and every now and again, she caught herself tripping or leaning sideways. He pitied her, because she worked very hard, ate very little, and suffered the consequences of both. Riku noted in Master Yen Sid's library a table full of half-eaten food and was pleased that she was trying harder than the morning she brought hotcakes. He wanted to encourage her, but did not know how.

Sayeh fell against the door frame as she stepped into the train and groaned.

"You okay?" Riku asked.

She shook her head. "I feel sick…I may have eaten too much…trained too much…"

"Here," Riku gently gripped her shoulders and guided her to a seat near windows, so she could look out and be aware of her location. It would lessen any side effects of motion sickness, or overall nausea. Sayeh could barely sit up on her own, so she cradled her head on the arm rest.

As the train moved, it bumbled on the tracks, bouncing as it went. Riku watched from across the aisle as Sayeh repeatedly adjusted her position. Her head would fall out of her palm, or it would bounce too hard against the armrest. Finally, Riku reseated himself next to her and urged her to lean on his shoulder.

"No thank you, I—"

"You've been struggling. Just…use my shoulder," He mumbled the last part, and for a second, seemed a little embarrassed saying it out loud. Sayeh, on the other hand, felt embarrassed because she felt an emotion she did not quite understand. Was it a sense of care on his part, or was it pity?

She stared at his shoulder a little longer before scooting over and resting her head on his shoulder. Her hands needed something to do, a way to be positioned, so she crossed her arms as she angled herself away from him. Within minutes, Sayeh relaxed enough to fall asleep. She never got to see the pleasant smile on Riku's face.

* * *

**Author's Note: Woo, that took a while. Sorry guys, I'm so busy! I also had a hard time with this chapter because a, I don't use the word hotcakes to describe pancakes, b, don't know the difference between hotcakes and pancakes if there is one, c, had to find the emotions, thoughts and feelings associated with self-image and food-deprivation. I wanted her to be more relatable by adding layers (as it should be with character development), and it's harder than I thought. If I'm doing it justice, great. **

**I also hope I did not offend or upset (or trigger) anyone. I tried to warn. I also put in a Riku/OC fuzzy moment, to help. So…yeah. Thanks for reading! I'll add more in the future.**


	4. Mishap in Wonderland

Chapter 4: Mishap in Wonderland

* * *

A week and a half passed before Riku finally told Sayeh she was coming with him. She was turning over the night before's takeout noodles, studying her spellbook, when he ambled into the dining room and stood awkwardly over her.

"Yes?" Sayeh asked without looking up. She licked her finger and turned to the next page.

"You've trained, but haven't helped with anything," Riku said, realizing after the fact how accusatory he sounded.

"You haven't asked," she replied before guiding a tangle of noodles into her mouth. "And in my culture, you wait don't just shove yourself into someone's way. You wait for someone to ask."

"You know how much time that wastes?"

"How? If anything, I've been resting, eating, and studying. I've been doing the things that Master Yen Sid said would help me be of better use."

Riku clenched his teeth, but silently relented. "The best training is real-world. We'll leave in an hour."

~Wonderland~

Riku stepped out of the Dark Corridor first, scanning the area for any Heartless or Nobodies. When it was deemed clear, Riku motioned for Sayeh to join him outside the Corridor—she stepped out in a black coat, matching Riku's.

"I spent that time designing my magical clothes, and for what…" She mumbled under her breath, adjusting the coat. Her long braid hung out of the hood that hid most of her face, flopping all over the place and in the way. She regretted not putting her hair in a bun when she thought about it.

This new world surrounding her was full of fragrance. Everything was taller than them—the forest they stood in was nothing but oversized mushrooms and flowers. She could smell the spicy sweet aroma of lilacs, lemony verbena, and fragrant tuberoses. It reminded her of the Azara's home in the Bahaara Valley, where flowers grew year-round.

Sayeh inched closer to flowers whose petals would normally be smaller than her fingernail and inhaled deeply. "Ah, so _nice_."

"Why thank you!" The flower chimed. It surprised Sayeh enough to knock her on her butt, earning a hoot from Riku. Sayeh did not notice the face within the disk that held the petals together. Now that it was talking to her, she forgot all about how beautiful the flowers were. They were simply frightening.

"Y-you can talk!"

A voice from another place—a rose—added, "Of course we can talk, my dear."

And an orchid, "If there's anyone around worth talking to."

The one in front of her laughed, "Or about."

Sayeh turned to Riku, who was still off to the side, laughing. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"I've been here before," he replied with a nod. "I just didn't think it would happen."

"What species are you, my dear?" The rose inquired. "You look like an Alice."

"An Alice?" Sayeh felt a leaf lifting the hem of her black coat. She shooed it away and backed towards Riku.

"Why do all the Alices have those strange, scrawny stems?"

"I'll never know, Rose."

"Alright," Riku interrupted, pointing behind him. "Work to do."

The forest of oversized flora both amazed and terrified Sayeh the further they walked. In one direction there are buttered pieces of bread flapping like wings of a butterfly. Birds in the shape of reading glasses watched them from the dark canopies above, and Sayeh nearly stepped on a gaggle of horn shaped birds. Sayeh shrieked when she heard the cymbal frogs happily clashing around their ponds. It was all nonsense, really, and it disturbed Sayeh enough to break her concentration.

Out of nowhere a block of ice materialized and dropped with a splash into the pond, turning it to ice. The cymbal frogs slipped and skated around before crashing into one another in one huge mess.

"Oh! Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Sayeh rushed off the path to tend to the frogs. She made to touch them, but could not bring herself to do it.

"Don't worry about them, they'll be okay," Riku said, continuing onward. "We have to make it to the Garden."

"The Garden?"

"You'll know…when you hear singing. And smoke." There was a grumble to his tone, as if those things sounded unpleasant.

Sayeh smirked. "Don't get too excited."

"You'll understand when we get there."

It seemed like hours passed in the forest. Some parts were darker than others, and things that made little sense often showed their faces. Sayeh was quick on Riku's heels, almost as if he was her shield against the nonsense. He did not seem to mind or even notice, but helped keep Sayeh calm.

Riku smelled of many things at once. Perhaps, in Sayeh's eyes, he was the most fragrant flower of the forest. He smelled of earth, of musk, and sunshine. It confused Sayeh, considering his dark disposition—how could someone like him smell like sunshine?

How did she smell to him? Hopefully she did not smell bad…

But yes, sunshine. He was tan, but his skin was lighter than hers; it had little association to the darkness in his heart. The longer she stayed around him, the more she could zero in on different parts of his scent. The sunshine, the musk, the earth…salt? Some sort of fruity smell she could not name? It reminded her of the coast back home, with all its beaches and water.

"What is the world like where you're from, Riku?" It was the question to break the long silent trek through the forest.

Sayeh could sense the nostalgia in his energy. A small smile spread on his face. "Never-ending ocean and islands. It was a small world."

"Hm," she grunted. "My world was mostly mountains. They plopped a religious school on the top, taught us how to use magic. There was a valley and a coastline…" She wanted to tell him he smelled like sunshine, but could not find the words or the courage.

"Okay," was the only response. Riku groaned inwardly. "We're close. I can smell the smoke."

The closer they got, the smell of fruit and tobacco incensed the air and the dark woods transitioned back to colorful flora all around. They heard a moaning that could barely pass for singing, and saw smoke-filled shapes that rose high into the canopies. On a mushroom high enough to be a table sat a fat caterpillar with shoes similar to what men wore back in Sayeh's world. The toe of the shoes curled back on themselves, and were often worn for special occasions. The oversized blue caterpillar enjoyed some sort of pipe that ran into a large glass chamber of water, and coals on a plate on the pipe's neck. With it he blew fat, fluffy letters into the air as he sung the ones he made. He paused when he discerned Riku and Sayeh's presence.

"Who are you?" He breathed a smoky letter to represent each evenly spaced word.

"Why does it matter?" Riku answered. He motioned to his jacket. "See any people like us lately?"

"Explain yourself," The caterpillar demanded curtly, waving the handle of pipe around.

Riku sighed. "People like us. They wear these coats. They're bad people. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

The caterpillar shifted to his feet and angled himself away. He turned his back to Riku and Sayeh and called over his shoulder, "I do not know."

"Fine," Riku sneered. "Let's go Sayeh. We can ask somewhere else."

"Girl! Wait! Come back! I have something important to say!"

Nearly back in the dark wood, the pair paused mid-stride and turned on their heels. From the way his shoulders stiffened and how often he clucked his tongue, Sayeh could tell Riku was irritated. If he visited here, she would think he would have gained allies, but she started to realize he never did. She was his first ally. He just knew the worlds and the people in them.

"Me?" Sayeh raised a hand to her chest, pointing at herself.

"Yes, you," A "U" flew towards Sayeh and tapped her on the forehead before dissipating. "Keep your wits."

"I'm sorry?"

"Your wits."

"…okay…anything else?" Sayeh hoped for more information on any black coats so they could leave this crazy forest.

Motioning to the mushroom near them, the caterpillar said, "One side will make you grow taller and the other side will make you shorter."

"I wasn't aware that we were short in the first place," Sayeh whispered to Riku.

"Me neither."

"Should we try some?"

"No," Riku shook his head. "Just because he said something about it, doesn't mean you should try it. Don't be so naïve."

"Naïve?" Sayeh whined. "Don't be a jerk! I'm taking some anyway. It's the only useful thing I think he's said."

"And how do you know?"

Sayeh paused and looked at Riku. Riku had crossed his arms with an obvious frown, but it only encouraged her. She wanted to be useful in the field and where she was from, preparedness was second nature. One day there'd be snow, and the next torrential rains. With that in mind, Sayeh grabbed two pieces of mushroom, one from opposite parts of the head, and stuffed it in her jacket pocket. Riku shook his head and continued onward.

Their next destination was through more woods, in what seemed like the epicenter of darkness. The canopies were so thick that a sliver of light barely pierced the brush above. Riku and Sayeh relied on fire magic to light their way.

The sounds of woodwinds and voices straining higher caught the pair's attention. One could barely make out the words, because the rhythm stumbled as if the people singing had little care for it.

Suddenly, the voices shrieked and their accompaniment ceased. A rumble erupted from that part of the forest and a shockwave of energy rushed through Riku and Sayeh.

"Did you feel that?" Sayeh blurted. Riku nodded and bolted for the rumbling.

Through a small gate Sayeh spotted flying chairs, tea cups, pots, and sugar outside a small cottage. Raised on the only stationary object around, the table, was a larger couch, bearing the symbol and features of a Heartless. The couch had grown golden eyes and teeth—when it grumbled, Heartless grew from the shadows on the ground and the couch formed a barrier over itself.

"Heartless look like anything these days," Riku breathed summoning his sword overhead and lunging into battle.

Sayeh found herself mesmerized. The way Riku ducked and dodged was quicker than she ever hoped to be; his attacks were quick but effective in cutting down the Heartless swarming the garden.

In between attacks Riku paused to check on Sayeh, who stood frozen at the gate. "Are you gonna fight, or what?"

"R-right!" Sayeh ran through her basic training with Master Yen Sid and followed the steps he gave her to center her energy and use it effectively. She felt the energy within her expand to outside her, reminding her of a lit furnace. Immediately she dove into casting from a safe distance, giving her enough time to re-focus between each attack.

She quickly learned that real battles weren't that easy.

A Heartless snuck up on her from behind and jumped on her back, scratching and clawing at whatever it could reach. Surprised, Sayeh lost focus and magic flew everywhere—even Riku had to evade the falling tree branches, the oversized balls of fire being launched in all directions, and the spikes of dark energy Sayeh's body shed because there was too much going on around her. He regretted bringing her.

His thoughts distracted him from the main Heartless, the Couch, which reached forward with dark tendrils, wrapped itself around Riku and snapped the tendrils back. It yanked Riku into its plush seat and called the others to attack the defenseless boy, and it was all because of Sayeh.

She could not do this like she thought.

She let Riku down, just like she did Azara.

"Sayeh!" Riku saw the look in her eyes and knew what it meant, what her thoughts were. "Don't give up!"

More Heartless piled onto her and knocked her to the ground.

She could not do it. She could hear Riku, but it was not going to happen.

A wave of nausea swept over her as her heart quickened. She felt her breath follow suit, her chest expanding rhythmically but not getting enough air. A heat licked at her spine and numbed her extremities.

It was happening all over again.

She would kill everything in her path, including Riku.

Sayeh slouched forward, her back contracting while her nails grew to claws. A black skin enveloped her body, all except for her eyes, which turned Heartless yellow. Black wisps of smoke rose from her skin.

Riku had never seen anything like it. Sayeh transformed into a Heartless before his eyes. The Heartless that clung to her back had melted into her—she _absorbed_ their darkness. Sayeh zipped all over the place on all fours and attacked every dark thing that moved. Within seconds, all the small-fry Heartless had been destroyed. Sayeh attacked the chair that held Riku next, tearing away the fabric and the stuffing in the couch. Most of the metal frame within could be seen before the couch released Riku and reached for Sayeh, all while summoning more Heartless.

The decision that tore Riku in two was whether he should help her, or let her run herself weary. And then, what would he do with her? Would she revert on her own? Would she try to kill him? Absorb him?

Sora was the only thing that mattered. He was the end result of all this, whether Sayeh was present or not. If she had to be eliminated, Riku would do it for Sora. Still, a sliver of him wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.

With Heartless closing in around him, he swung his blade in a circle and destroyed them all at once. The bigger one, the couch, defended itself from Sayeh, who continued to scratch away at its deteriorating body. When it tried to grab her with a tendril, she tore it away without a thought. When it hit at her and scratched, she never reacted. It was as if it did not matter.

Oh, but it did.

Sayeh was still human underneath the black skin she donned, and rivulets of blood were streaming down her body. It spattered on the couch whenever she made a quick move. The injuries never slowed her down as she finished taking the furniture apart until finally, the darkness within it imploded on itself. The couch sighed when it fell into a heap without the darkness to hold it together.

Nothing was left to battle. All the Heartless were gone.

Dishes and furniture lied broken all over the garden. The only thing that remained intact was a picture hung above the once-possessed couch, containing a strange looking man with a large, green hat, and a hare with an equally strange look in its eye.

When all was quiet, Sayeh bucked and arched on all fours, the black wisps of smoke finally dissipating and revealing her regular human skin. As she blinked, her eyes turned human-like, with pupils, but remained golden. Her dark skin flushed with heat, and the injuries she sustained show themselves. Tiny webs of blood covered her arms and surprised face.

Riku sighed with relief. He did not have to destroy her, which was great. But what was next? Would she collapse from her injuries? Would she be okay and pretend nothing happened?

Instead, Sayeh stared at Riku for a few seconds before melting into a blubbering mass. She stumbled to her feet and broke for the forest.

"Sayeh, wait!" Riku shouted after her, but to no avail.

Everything jumbled on the inside. It was the same as last time—she returned to consciousness and destroyed everything in her path without knowing it. Only this time, something injured her in the process. The cuts and bruises burned all over her body, but they could not compare to the embarrassment she felt, the shame. Sayeh felt like the blindfold Riku wore could not hide the look of utter shock and fear in his eyes when she returned to "normal", whatever that was. Her eyes stung with tears and tiny whimpers erupted into full wails when she took off.

Sayeh found herself smacking into branches and tripping over roots before she realized she was too disoriented to be running around the dark parts of the forest. She kicked one root so hard, she flipped and landed on flat on her back. Staring down at her were blurry birds that resembled reading glasses and hand mirrors. One hand mirror looked down at her and she could barely make out her own face, which was twisted in pain and disappointment. She flapped a hand at the birds, trying to shoo them away, but they felt too much pity for her to leave her side.

Tears rolled from her cheeks to her ears. Dirt mixed into her unkempt braid. With each heartbeat, pain circulated through her body and reminded her all the damage done to her.

"Sayeh!" She heard footsteps running towards her and quickly stopping with an earthy crunch. Sayeh felt Riku's gloved fingers checking her arms and her face for any serious damage. His tender touch only hurt her more, made her cry even more. She gurgled and shook her head when Riku asked if anything was broken.

"Just leave me here," she choked. "I could have killed you."

Riku, stooped next to her, brushed some hair from her face. She could not see his, but could tell from the amusement in his voice that he was sincere. "You aren't strong or quick enough."

The sudden audacity made her hoot. Then she quieted down. "I was quick enough to kill my friend that way."

"You're learning to control the darkness."

"So are you. You almost destroyed the universe, and you're having an easier time."

"I just don't give up. Now, come on. Take this."

Sayeh heard the squeak of a bottle releasing a cork. She was barely able to sit up, but still managed to drink the potion Riku gave her. It stung, but the cuts and bruises on her body closed themselves up. She was back in physically pristine condition, save for the dried blood and extreme exhaustion. Riku helped her up and threw her arm around his shoulders to steady her. Then, he opened a Dark Corridor that led home.

While Riku recounted the recon mission to DiZ, Sayeh stared at the ceiling in a tub filled with steaming water.

Naminé knocked on the door. Sayeh told her she could come in, but there was a moment of hesitation before she actually did, shutting the door behind her. "I heard it didn't go well."

"Yeah, I pulled a Heartless moment, or whatever," Sayeh replied, sitting up in the tub and causing water to spill over the rim. "Could've killed Riku. Did he sound mad?"

"No," Naminé laced her fingers at her abdomen. "He was only concerned about the process and the triggers. DiZ believes when you're scared and surrounded by too many Heartless, you'll lose control and turn. He wanted to speak to you about it and get more information, but Riku thought it best to leave you be for now."

"But…why isn't he mad?"

Naminé shook her head, shrugging. "He understands your struggle with the darkness."

Riku's words echoed in Sayeh's mind, the ones about not giving up. She felt his power before, and it was far greater than hers, even when she did turn. To be escalated to an even higher standard, well, Riku must constantly battle his personal demons.

That night, Sayeh curled into a chair in the abandoned library with a random storybook to clear her mind. She sensed Riku's presence halfway through the story—she was at the part where the heroine meets the hero, the future man of her dreams. Though the heroine was self-conscious, she loved the lavishing attention she received. There was a constant skirmish between her negative and positive feelings, and even now, the heroine contemplated her worthiness.

"Is it good?"

"So far," Sayeh replied quietly, closing the book on her thumb so she could keep her place therein. She gazed at him and wondered the same thing her heroine did—why was Riku giving her such attention? He was sweet to her, whether he realized it.

Instead of judging her, he examined her body for bad injuries. Instead of leaving her in the woods, he brushed her hair from her face and helped her through the Dark Corridor. Instead of calling her terrible things that she already called herself in her own mind, he was telling her not to give up, that it was okay.

But looking at him, she could see the weariness of another battle fought. Without his blindfold, his unguarded eyes were open to interpretation, and sadness was always present. On his shoulders the burden of the universe sat, until he could share it with others. Perhaps that was why he encouraged her. She could share that burden, if she did not kill him first.

For a while, no words passed between them. Finally, as Riku made to leave, he said, "It gets easier. I promise."

* * *

**Wow, I was able to get this one out rather quickly. I knew I wanted to do one of two things: show Sayeh in a successful battle, or show her wilding out and ruining stuff but getting Riku's sympathy. I didn't mean for the story to take the latter turn, but it did. Adapting original Disney script to my story was a little difficult, and keeping Riku in character while making him sweet and nice was a little hard. I mean, when I analyzed him in Dream Drop Distance, especially in Traverse Town, you could tell that he had a nice side. He's often portrayed as being a butt, or being arrogant or angsty. I figured that he could have a nice side with someone that shared his struggle. Thank you for reading! **


	5. Squall

**Chapter 5: Squall**

* * *

Sayeh rose, sore from her Wonderland recon with Riku. Her limbs, even when stretching, felt short and resistant, and her insides felt empty. White noise filled her mind and left her in a muted trance on the edge of the bed.

What would the day bring? Would 0…it be another failed mission? More crying and embarrassment?

Regardless, she had to get up. Sayeh had to rise. There was nothing else to do.

Every morning, Sayeh looked herself over in the mirror. Glassy eyes stared back at her above a hard-set frown and—

She stepped closer to the mirror, closer to her other self whose eyes were yellow instead of her original brown.

The first time Sayeh's eyes ever turned this color was when she first bled. No one had explained the womanly change to her before then because she was expected to blossom around twelve. Instead, the change ended her childhood at ten, and it sent her running to the infirmary in hysterics.

A nurse explained to her with a deep-set frown that Sayeh's eyes changed color to confirm her dark disposition. "Congratulations," Sayeh remembered her saying, "You're becoming a beast."

Had the mission with Riku fared better, she might have been proud to bear these yellow eyes. Yet again, she broke everything and failed.

Sayeh peeled herself from the standing mirror and swiped through pages of spells before landing on a page solely focused on aesthetics. Part of her wondered why Master Yen Sid remained aged when he could easily change his looks, while the other part of her scanned for changing eye color.

When she found the spell, she let out a little sigh and immediately threw it into practice. The energy flowed, the words summoned the magic, but the brown bled through for mere seconds before being swallowed by the wild yellow color. Sayeh swore under her breath.

"It seems to be a side effect of your transformation," Master Yen Sid told her when she visited him. "Those who are affiliated with darkness often share these yellow eyes. However, for you this is temporary. They will return to normal in a few days, so long as your neutral condition is maintained."

"Neutral condition?" Sayeh repeated.

"You may take in Riku's energy without consequence—maintain a neutral condition. If you take in pure darkness, it will affect you in this way."

"Oh." She absorbed the Heartless in battle when she transformed. "It makes sense now. When I…transformed…I remembered a few things. I remember absorbing many Heartless at a time."

Master Yen Sid nodded as he stroked his beard. "That may be the source of your imbalance, then."

Sayeh walked quickly back to the mansion, fearing she may run into Olette and the others. She scanned her surroundings incessantly, pulled the scarf that she wore on her head when she was alone over her face, not paying attention to what was in front of her as much as behind or beside her. Without warning, she slammed into Seifer's back and stumbled backwards. She vomited apologies before realizing who it was.

"The new nerd," Seifer said, almost to himself. "Where's your pack of losers?"

"I-I don't know, you haven't seen them?" She asked back, hoping to avoid wherever they may be. She kept her eyes low and looked everywhere but his face. Sayeh tried to think of anything to save herself. "To be honest, I was going to buy them gifts, so um, don't let them know where I am. I want it to be a surprise."

"Whatever, geek." He shoved past Sayeh, smacking into her arm as he did. She rubbed it, grimacing. Whatever worked, she guessed.

No sooner had Sayeh made it into the Mansion than Riku made to leave, zipping up his black cloak and throwing his hood over his head.

"Good, you can come with," he muttered.

"And where are we going?" Sayeh asked, loosening the scarf enough to let it comfortably hang around her neck.

His hand outstretched, a portal opened at his fingertips. "Beast's Castle. DiZ found a disturbance there, the same one we were tracking in Wonderland."

"Alright, can you wait for me to get ready? My coat's upstairs."

"Hurry."

She returned quickly with her coat and walked through the portal with Riku. After yesterday's both vulnerable and intimate circumstances, she found herself unable to make light conversation with him. Instead, Sayeh tried to focus on what they were doing. His massive aura through her off, however. It was always there, always throbbing with the beat of his heart, always smelling like his brand of darkness—it made her uncomfortable in her skin, as if she suddenly became too tight in it, outgrown it. Walking next to him, she began to flinch away.

"Are you okay?" Riku asked, sensing her perturbation.

"J-just fine!"

Suspicion hung in the air between them, but he ignored it and continued with, "I noticed your eye color. That happens when you get to close to the darkness."

"Yes," she responded, crossing her arms. "I went to Master Yen Sid about it. He expects it to disappear in a few days."

"Well, hang back if you need to. Don't push it today."

"I know."

The Beast's Castle could be described as a dark and gloomy place with a somehow energizing atmosphere. The air held a tangible quality, and the furnishings around her seemed stilled only when she was looking. Not to mention, for a castle so quiet and lifeless, a lack of cobwebs hinted at the very opposite of neglect.

"This place looks like it was once very beautiful," Sayeh whispered to no one in particular. "It has a certain—"

"Shh! Don't let the Beast hear you."

"Why?"

Riku looked around as he said, "We're not exactly on great terms."

Sayeh silently concluded that it related to Riku's past endeavors, and his fear of the Beast meant he regretted it.

"Is someone there?" In the foyer, a voice called from one of the side rooms. It cracked open, most of the light from within blocked by a petite silhouette. Instantly, Riku yanked Sayeh behind a pillar. He reminded her to remain quiet by holding a finger over his pursed lips.

The figure emerged from now seemingly cozy room. It carried a candlestick to light its way, repeating its previous question in a voice that gave reason to believe it was a woman. Sayeh could barely make out a dress with an apron tied at her whittled waist.

"Hello?" her voice echoed through the castle.

Rhythmic clangs followed after her, but nothing could be seen except three extra flames closer to the ground. "_Ma chère mademoiselle_, it is not safe to be wandering the halls alone with the strangers about."

Sayeh elbowed Riku. The term probably alluded to the disturbance in the Castle.

"But it sounded like they were leaving, Lumiere," the woman replied, returning to the room she left anyway. "I thought they had returned…"

Once the lights left, Sayeh relaxed. Only seconds passed before she tensed again, realizing her proximity to Riku; again their bodies were touching in some way, and it sent sparks down each other's spine to feel their energies clash.

Sayeh backed away first, "S-so someone has arrived. Maybe it's the Organization."

"She said it sounded like they left. I think they're outside. Let's go."

The oversized courtyard beyond the Castle's entrance teemed with tangible darkness. As soon as they set foot on the decorative square of grass in the center, Shadows grew into pools of darkness and shot towards both of them. Sayeh threw her best magic at them, always on guard and reminding herself that the more darkness she took in, the more adverse side effects. Instead of absorbing, she emptied herself of it, tainting her elemental magic with what would be lethal doses to the Shadows. They were the infantry of Heartless after all, and could only take so much of their own medicine.

The weight of darkness gradually lifted on Sayeh and she felt better than how she woke up. Riku even noticed how looser she became after ridding the world of a few Shadows. In between attacks, he would notice her smiling at the place where the Heartless disappeared, obviously happy in her victories. The confidence drove her to bigger fish, and even bigger victories.

After the courtyard came a long bridge. Riku stepped on it first, and took notice that there was a presence, but only one. No Heartless formed in this area of the world.

"Look!" Sayeh pointed at the black-cloaked figure at the end of the bridge—an Organization member.

"Stay back, I'll handle it."

Sayeh watched as Riku approached the figure, a small one. She wondered if it was the boy from her own world, the one that came in with Xigbar. Anger flowed through her veins and extended into her immediate atmosphere, but quickly died down once she noticed its outward presence. Riku, unbothered, never looked back.

"Hey!"

The Organization member turned around. It shrieked, "The Impostors!"

"Hm?"

The member flung its hand in the air to call forth its weapon. What materialized not only irked Riku, but made him summon his own.

What materialized was a Keyblade, not unlike Sora's. However, Sora was asleep. It was not his.

"Maybe you're the impostor with that Keyblade of yours. Where'd you get that?"

The small member lunged for Riku, and Riku obliged the Organization member in battle, but did not allow the person to get such an easy hit on him. He ducked out of the way and landed a hit of his own, knocking the person to the ground with ease. The member jumped back up and ran for Riku again, and it almost insulted him to think of how weak the person was. Within seconds, the member showed signs of strain. One last lunge for Riku and he knocked their Keyblade from their grip. The Keyblade whirled in its trajectory towards the ground, literally sticking its landing before the Organization member who, once on their knees, slumped onto their belly.

Riku knelt beside the incapacitated member, ignoring Sayeh's calls during his investigation. The member had a feminine body, but he only recalled one female member of the Organization, and she had long disappeared. He peeled her hood away before lifting his blindfold to truly look at the person's face. He gasped.

"Her face…Who are you, really? And why do you have a Keyblade?"

"Tell me first," she countered, pulling her hood back up, "Why you are dressed as one of us?"

Disgusted and confused, Riku walked towards her Keyblade. "To make sure my best friend sleeps in peace."

He grabbed it, which he remembered that once before he had with Sora, and it disappeared from his grip. This one he easily wielded. This one did not care which owner it had.

"I don't know who you're supposed to be." He held it up before his eyes, remembering the cravings he once had to hold this magnificent weapon. Only this one was not magnificent. It was not the real thing. Again, it reminded him he would never hold the real thing. With bitterness, he continued. "But, you can't fight fire with sparks. This Keyblade, it's a sham—"

He tossed the Keyblade at her.

"Worthless."

"My Keyblade is not a sham." She spat, obviously angered. The girl had found enough strength to sit up, and even more to shout, "What gives you the right to say that?"

Again, she rose, clutching the Keyblade and running at Riku.

Sayeh, who watched from afar, nearly ran for Riku. She knew what her eyes had seen earlier—Riku easily wore her out, but Sayeh could not allow the girl to attack him. She could not allow Riku to simply stand there and let it happen. "Riku!" she called, but he did not hear her.

Riku whirled out of the girl's range and knocked her in the back, sending her falling back to the stony cobbles. Her Keyblade dispelled at her very fingertips. He straightened.

"Find a new crowd," he warned. "Trust me. Those guys are bad news. Sayeh."

Sayeh maintained a distance from the squatting Organization member, but joined Riku's side nonetheless.

The poor girl growled at Sayeh, flustered at their imitations of her people, the black cloaks they wore, and Riku's effortless victory. "Why? You're the real sham."

Sayeh looked to Riku. His face first twisted in anger and shame, then returned to an empty smile. It worried her to see him go through emotions so quickly, not mention feeling the sporadic levels of energy from him. Again, she shifted uncomfortable in his stark presence.

"Fair enough," he finally answered. "You could say I am the biggest nobody of them all."

Riku and Sayeh left the girl there—she cried out in anguish behind them as they left the Beast's Castle.

Sayeh noticed Riku's mood sour. She would try to make conversation on the way back, and he would either grunt, ignore her, or snap at her. She sighed. "What's wrong, Riku?"

He flared. "I'm trying to understand what's going on here, and you're making small talk. Just…be quiet."

She found it hard to understand why she was flustered by his reaction to her. She, too, became preoccupied for the rest of the day, so much that quietly spending time with Naminé did not bother her.

Normally, she asked Naminé a lot of questions or encouraged conversations. Now, listening to the rubs of crayon against paper gave more comfort to her thoughts than any words could.

"Is something wrong?" Naminé asked gently, noticing Sayeh had picked up a crayon and mindlessly scribbled on a failed sketch.

"Riku's mad at me. I don't understand what I did."

"I don't think he's mad at you. He may just be thinking about something."

"The girl from the Organization," Sayeh thought aloud. "She called him a sham, after he called her Keyblade one."

"A Keyblade?"

"Yeah," Sayeh looked up at Naminé. "She had a Keyblade."

"She?"

The dark-hair girl confirmed, "A girl."

"…There're _two_ Nobodies…" Naminé eventually said, her scribbling picking up in pace.

"Hm?"

"There's Roxas," Naminé explained. "He wields a Keyblade because he's Sora's Nobody. He has spiked, blond hair."

"Yes, I saw him in my world during its destruction."

"This other person, she must be another Nobody of Sora's, otherwise she could not wield the Keyblade."

"If I recall correctly," Sayeh dropped the crayon on the table and smoothed her hair. "Master Yen Sid's books say a Keyblade only has one owner. So how can Roxas use it? And this other person? And Riku?"

"Roxas can use it because he is a part of Sora. Nobodies are the minds and bodies left behind when a heart is stolen. The same may be said for the girl, but I'm not certain about Riku's usage…though if he referred to hers as a sham, it must not be real after all."

"Now I'm confused. If her Keyblade isn't real…is she not real?"

"Maybe the only answer is finding Roxas, and trying his Keyblade. If you can wield his, then maybe it is because they are Nobodies."

Now she had a plan. She wanted to encounter Roxas and attempt to use his Keyblade to see if his was a sham too. If it was, it would be more information gathered about the Organization member she met on the bridge. The first step was to find a suitable combat teacher. While Riku was the first on her mind, Sayeh avoided him on the basis that his attitude had greatly soured and he was nowhere to be found. Her friends at the Sandlot barely knew a thing about proper combat. Master Yen Sid was too old to teach something like that, but she figured he would know of a place to go.

"Hollow Bastion," he replied, stroking his beard. "There is a man there by the name of Squall. He taught Sora the strategies of battle. Perhaps he can teach you as well."

Hollow Bastion fit its name—a crumbling yet looming castle shadowing the village underneath. Cranes stood everywhere, along with many tools and materials needed to build homes and other sorts of buildings. Sayeh wore her hood because her gut told her that she would be recognized before she recognized Squall, though the hood would inevitably lead to some sort of beatdown.

Shadows skittered underneath nearby objects when regular citizens walked by; whether it was fear or strategy that propelled them, she did not know. When one found the courage to attack a person, the citizen ducked away, and a small orb of light erupted from the circle on the ground. It hit the Shadow with so much force, it melted away. The citizens carried on as if nothing happened.

"How peculiar—" A pain underneath Sayeh's feet threw her into the air when she realized the same orb that sought the Shadow was now attacking her. It was a system to attack the darkness, meaning now she had to cross a moving minefield.

Avoidance came by remembering one of her oldest classes in her world. By that time, Sayeh had not yet known of her nature, and the boy in her class who did was often targeted for it. She remembered the teacher saying something about avoiding "one of those" and pointing straight for the boy. At that point, she too, looked at the boy with scorn.

Discrimination aside, the class taught the most important aspect of battle, defense. Defending and avoiding your opponent's hits could not only save your life, but tire out your assailant.

It taught the choice of then wailing on your opponent, or strategically pitting them against themselves; knowing when to quit, or when to push that extra step to obtain victory.

Here in Hollow Bastion, Sayeh planned to find Squall. They would not fight, if she could have it her way. She would explain her side, and ask—if not, beg—for instruction on combat. If Sayeh had to take a beating, she would take it, although reluctantly.

The marketplace of Hollow Bastion was full of armor and jewelry geared towards increasing strength and ability. Maybe Sayeh would get more information on those things from Squall, too.

She had to reach Squall first, and running from the attacking circles forming on the ground behind her made it difficult to stop and search.

A concrete wall she did not notice earlier struck her hard, knocking her back on her feet. From underneath, the circles again targeted the darkness inside her, and kicked her into the air.

Sayeh could not win.

"Tell Cid to disable the alarm," A baritone voice above her called, and another presence fled. "Who are you?"

Sayeh tried to focus on the person standing over her instead of the sun behind their head. This person balanced a gun-blade hybrid on his furred shoulder. When she made out the features of his face like the scar running across his nose—like Seifer from Twilight Town, Sayeh noted—she realized that this was a possible candidate for her search.

She tumbled to her feet, but came to a halt when the blade was pointed at her. Her hands raised, she said slowly, "I mean no harm."

"The Claymore system attacked you," he responded, "So who are you?"

They eyed each other as Sayeh pushed back her hood, her long braid tumbling over her chest. "My name is Sayeh. I was sent here in search for Squall for training—"

"The Claymore system only attacks darkness, so what kind of evil are you?"

Sayeh huffed. It was so annoying, this process. "Look, if you want to beat me up because you think I'm a bad guy, go ahead. I'll even let you, to prove a point." She pointed to her left eye, the only one that remained yellow at this point. "You see this? This is scary. I didn't ask for this darkness crap, but I have it and intend to use it for good. Are you going to help me or not?"

What bad guy in their right mind would ever come out with something like that? It was bulletproof, or Sayeh wanted to think it was.

Eventually, Squall answered by returning his blade to his shoulder and offering a hand to help her up. "Lose the hood, Sai…?"

"Sayeh," she repeated, unzipping her cloak. Mission accomplished.

Squall—or Leon, as he preferred—introduced her to the entire group. His way of repeating her name held some apprehension in it, which Sayeh found understandable. They were not going to be instant friends after all; in fact, everyone a part of the "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee", as they called themselves, found Sayeh unsettling. Never before had they encountered a peaceful but dark person.

The country computer technician they called Cid immediately pointed out the difference in eye colors, which led to a series of questions from all directions. Yuffie, the tiny but sassy girl toting a large, star-shaped weapon, blatantly asked if she was a Heartless.

"No, I'm not a Heartless—I have a heart," Sayeh sighed. "Look, do…do you guys know about other worlds?"

"Yessiree," Cid replied, "Why, I toted these youngins' to 'nother world when this one went caput."

"Well, I'm from one that was destroyed. There, we had two kinds of people—those who could use magic and those who can't. I can," she swallowed hard, "Only mine magic is closer to the darkness."

"D…does that mean you can _control_ Heartless, then?" Yuffie asked.

Sayeh shook her head. "They don't like me, either."

"So why are you here?"

"I want to learn to fight, so I can make a difference, I guess. So other people don't have to lose their worlds."

"Would you mind waiting outside, then?" Leon asked. "We have to talk things over."

Sayeh waited for the good news outside of a house in the residential district. Moving around constantly to avoid the Claymores, she paced about the cobblestones, until Leon finally told her that the Committee approved her learning. It struck her as comical, because the Committee was a ragtag team of buddies, and only two of them really fit the fighter type. But the elder one, Leon, would be charged with teaching her the ways of combat.

The younger one, Yuffie, spent a lot of time tailing her. Sayeh would notice her sometimes, and other times, Yuffie would do it outright—asking her what she was doing, where she was going, who she was meeting. Sayeh always gave the same answer of innocence, but Yuffie never relented.

Cid taught her a thing or two about computers. Back home, Sayeh never really used them, just saw them. She found them too complex to be of any use, but learning from Cid helped her understand what DiZ did all day.

Aerith, who had not been seen on the day of Sayeh's arrival, further reinforced the innocence of the girl. Aerith knew things the Committee did not, and for a rather average girl, carried tons of secrets and knowledge not always shared with the Committee. She and Merlin taught Sayeh about more spells, corrected her methods of curing and making potions.

Because of Aerith, the Committee relaxed around her; Cid adapted the Claymore system to allow Sayeh to move freely. Yuffie followed her with less suspicion and more amiability. Leon took her training more seriously, getting past the basics and into things like strength-training and dieting, taking her into the less populated parts of town where bigger Heartless flourished. Before Sayeh knew it, she had spent many weeks in Hollow Bastion. Her duties to Riku and DiZ floated further back in her mind into oblivion.

One day, Leon knocked on Yuffie and Sayeh's door. "The Claymores are concentrating in an area beyond the marketplace. You guys coming?"

Yuffie leapt off her bed and grabbed her weapon before bolting out the door, screaming, "You betcha!"

Closing the book she was reading on the history of the world, Sayeh came to a stand and smoothed her tunic. "Do you think I'm ready?"

"You're better than when you first came here," Leon crossed his arms, "But you still got a lot to learn."

"Guys, let's go!" Yuffie called.

Beyond the marketplace's locked doors was an old, disheveled courtyard. Corners that used to hold roses and flowers were overgrown with weeds, and over time, dirt both covered and moved the beautiful mosaic on the ground into unrecognizable designs. Many years had passed before Leon and Yuffie had been back here, back when Hollow Bastion went by its old name. In fact, the Claymore system did not reach this courtyard, simply because they had not thought to extend the field this far. Instead, Claymores gathered at the door, struggling to make it past their barrier.

"Something's not right here…" Leon mumbled, looking for the root of the cause.

Sayeh could sense the energy, but it did not feel like Riku's.

"Look at you, lil' slugger! I see the Heartless haven't swallowed you whole yet."

That voice. Xigbar.

"Xigbar!" Sayeh repeated aloud. "Show your face!"

A black portal opened before a small edifice centered in the courtyard. His ponytail hung over his shoulder, and his mocking smile again struck terror in her heart.

"Look at you! Hey, maybe you are special, makin' it this far! Where's your emo impostor buddy?"

"Who's this?" Leon asked, sword at the ready. On her other side, poised for attack, was Yuffie.

Sayeh answered, "He's the guy who destroyed my world."

"Let me remind you that a sneeze could've sent your world spiraling out of control—geez, don't kids listen these days?"

"Shut up!" Sayeh charged for Xigbar, even though Leon taught her to be in control of battle.

But she hated him. She hated him for what he had done, for what she became because of him. Or maybe it was because of him she had to face herself as what she was? Either way, he was the bane of her existence.

Sayeh executed a hodge-podge flip over Xigbar when he pointed his guns toward her and fired. She landed on her feet, but nearly lost balance—as a result, Xigbar elbowed her in the chin and sent her flying.

With no other choices, Leon and Yuffie hurled themselves into battle with Sayeh. They were surprised to see the ease in which Xigbar moved through space. He never did much running. If he moved, it was between portals, or even upside down. Never before had Leon and Yuffie fought such an enemy.

Xigbar flung Yuffie the same way he did Sayeh, and when she tossed her shuriken at him, he sent it through one portal and back out another, straight for her. Leon would try to strike him with his blade, but Xigbar would easily duck out of the way. How could one person be this strong?

Two of the three sunk to their knees, tired. Sayeh could feel the darkness in her system nabbing at her. Come on, it said, use me. Even her yellowed eye radiated with heat, an uncomfortable sensation while visually focusing on the enemy. Sayeh clutched at her eye.

"Oh, would you look at that. It's been happening, hasn't it? Darkness has been getting the best of you, eh, lil' slugger?"

A pit deepened in her stomach. How did he know? Oh wait, his eyes were the same color, Sayeh noticed the last time. Did he not do the same? Was this the result of falling to the darkness? She did not want to be like Xigbar.

But maybe she could be, at least for right now. She could use his abilities against him.

"Guys," Sayeh spoke to Leon and Yuffie. "I…I have an idea. Me and him, we can both use portals. He's using portals to deflect and use our attacks against us. So maybe we can use that against him."

"Fling him through a bunch of portals? Do you think it will work?" The girls looked to Leon, and he shrugged.

"It's worth a try…will you be able to handle it? Using the darkness like that?"

Sayeh's gazed fell to the ground, "I don't think I have a choice right now. If I succumb to darkness, then end me."

She rose to her feet and allowed the darkness out of the cage in her heart. It flowed through her veins like a drug, gave her a high of strength and power. The energy radiated from her body like a purple smoke as Sayeh approached Xigbar.

Part of Xigbar welcomed the fact that she was using her darkness. For one, those with an affinity for darkness, much like the Keyblade wielder from ten years before, were very easy to tear down. They always thought they could do no wrong, that they were innocent if the road was paved with good intentions. On the other hand, it only gave him and his Organization new targets to look at. Who would become another candidate for their goal? Would she lose herself and become another Organization member? He had to test her now.

"Watch out, now. Here she comes," Xigbar goaded as he reloaded his guns.

Sayeh came closer and instantly attempted to wail on Xigbar. Did she not learn from earlier? She landed her hands on his coat and shoved him backwards. What would that do?

Oh.

Darkness enveloped Xigbar. She had thrown him into a portal. Okay…

He returned from a portal of his own, only a couple feet away from Sayeh. "Now, what did we learn?"

She grabbed him again, but this time, sent him through several portals, all interconnected. It was a loop through space. What glimpses Xigbar saw of Hollow Bastion was her allies gaining on the loop. Every time he popped out of one, they landed a hit or two before sending him through the loop faster and faster.

What a silly trick. It angered him, because he could not figure a way to right himself and get out of it. Xigbar took more and more damage into finally, he had enough and sought escape from the loop. Just before he hit another one, he made his own portal, and tumbled through.

"What a little…" he sneered. He should go back and teach that little witch a lesson, and that was exactly what he did. From his shelter, he sent out several quickly-scoped shots, all angled at pinning the girl and her friends to the ground. Xigbar walked back into Hollow Bastion, no longer smiling. "That was clever. But I don't like being sent through hoops."

Xigbar grabbed Sayeh by the front of her tunic; she tried resisting but had little strength left. She felt caught, useless, as if nothing she did would make him go away. He destroyed her world and now sought to destroy her, but she could never avenge Azara this way. Sayeh could never help Riku again this way.

"Let me go!" Sayeh squealed, feeling her emotions welling up inside her.

His lip curled as he spoke to her face-to-face. "You had your fun, but I gotcha now."

Too much energy inside her. Too much darkness. It was overloading her system. It was trying to defend its host, even if it, too, might kill her. It would rather kill her than something else. It was the mere art of preservation. Sayeh did not call it, but the darkness took over for her yet again, this time, exploding in a wave of heat and cold at the same time, encircling both her and Xigbar.

"What's happening?" Leon asked to no one in particular, helping Yuffie to her feet as he shoved a potion into her hands.

"I don't know," she replied, "But it doesn't look good."

The darkness fried Sayeh and Xigbar. When it exploded, in sent a wave knocking everyone back. Loosened tiles on the ground flung themselves away with it, and weeds died in the wake.

Only Leon and Xigbar managed to sustain injury without losing consciousness. Still, Xigbar struggled to lift his head up. Leon heard him mumble something before disappearing into a dark blaze, and he knew the man would not return.

First he checked on Yuffie. She hit her head on a rock nearby and probably sustained a concussion, but Aerith probably knew a recipe to return her to normal. On the other side of the courtyard near the broken fountain was a crumpled resemblance to Sayeh. She was out cold.

"Hey, you okay?" Leon moved her shoulder, but her head simply lolled about. When Yuffie came to, she asked about Leon, then Sayeh. "I'm fine, but she's not."

"It's okay, I got it," a voice behind them said.

The two whirled around and spotted another black coat-wearing individual. Left with little energy, Leon could barely lift his sword to defend the girls. The cloaked figure held a hand up, as if to imply it was not necessary. Leon barked, "What do you know? Your friend just tried to kill us all."

"That lowlife is not our friend. Now hand her here."

"How do we know that?" He ignored the cloaked figure's words.

The figure only scoffed. "Fine, then."

With the wave of his hand, Sayeh began to smoke with darkness, and she slowly disappeared like Xigbar did. Leon rushed to get her, but she had disappeared by then. When he turned back, the cloaked figure was gone.

Yuffie laid a hand on Leon's shoulder. "It's okay," she slurred, "If he's telling the truth, then she'll come back."

Sayeh awoke in a familiar place, one with a tall looking glass off to her left, and an empty space in her bed on her right. Next to her bed sat Naminé, hard at work scribbling. This time, she wore a brace on her wrist—someone was thoughtful enough to get her one. Sayeh grumbled, and it did not go unnoticed by Naminé.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake! Riku!" She called out the door for Riku.

Inwardly, Sayeh panicked, "No wait—"

But just as her words left her mouth, he was in there, forcing potion down her throat. "Swallow it all, you need it."

He immediately launched into an interrogation.

"What were you thinking, going off on your own for so long? You weren't ready to! You could've gotten yourself killed, and you just pranced over to another world like it was no big deal!"

Sayeh noticed Riku did not have his blindfold on, and that his tired blue eyes held purple circles underneath. Frown lines were forming at the corners of his mouth, and his movements were equally angered and haggard.

"I searched all over for you, and finally found you in Hollow Bastion, turning yourself into a darkness mortar and exploding the immediate area around you. Are you crazy?"

Naminé slipped out of the room by this point, leaving Sayeh to take the verbal beating. She had nothing to say, even when his pause prompted an answer.

Riku took in the sloppily done bandages—courtesy of Naminé—and the weathered look in Sayeh's eyes. He softened, "What were you doing there? What were you trying to accomplish by leaving?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but it never left. The truth was, she wanted to get better and help. Finally, "I wanted to get stronger, so I took Master Yen Sid's recommendation and found one of Sora's old friends. He trained me. I just wanted to be of more help, not just sitting there, watching you fight Nobodies."

His shoulders slumped like they did whenever he was in the pod room with Sora. For Sayeh to notice something like that made her feel suddenly vulnerable and uncomfortable; her heart skipped and before she knew it, Riku had swept her into a crushing hug.

"Don't you realize how responsible I would've felt if you had died? I kept you from fighting at the Beast's Castle because I didn't want the darkness to consume you."

Lamely, Sayeh replied, "Well it did this time." She tried to make up for such a silly statement. "But I'm okay, because you found me."

* * *

**Woo! That was a lot. I can't believe I managed to get that all out. I read somewhere that putting your character in situations where she/he/it is never comfortable allows for more characterization, and it was time for Xigbar and Sayeh to have contact again, only this time she wasn't a wimp about it. She literally put him within inches of his life, how great is that! And Riku actually missed her!**

**With the HBRC (Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee), I originally wanted them to distrust her, especially when Xigbar came around. If she constantly felt like no one trusted her, then it would have been a way to send her back to her world, but it didn't feel natural because it did not suit HBRC's behavior, even individually. They're basically all good people, and if you spent weeks with a suspicious person only to find that she was a great person, you wouldn't turn your back on that person. It took all that time to gain that trust, it would be difficult for some other person to break it, you know? Anyway.**

**I have a tumblr that's not incredibly, politically charged, and you're welcome to look at it. It's aylakocakff. Every now and again you may see something, but most of the time I'm reposting fanfiction inspiration, character dev stuff, cultural stuff, and/or hilarious stuff. Again, welcome to check it out. You can also ask me random stuff on it, because I will answer.**


	6. Home Away From Home

Chapter 6: Home Away From Home

* * *

Under Master Yen Sid's supervision, Sayeh made a full recovery, even though the healing process took as long as did her training in Hollow Bastion. She resumed her regimen from Leon, though it gave Sayeh a bad feeling when she did. Leaving Leon and the others the way she did probably sparked a sense of distrust and confusion among them. No doubt Riku left his hood on when retrieving her, and they had just seen her battle Xigbar…

Thinking of such a person—or, Nobody—sent a shiver down her spine. Xigbar's eyes glowed with the same darkness hers did, but she had accepted hers as a side effect of taking in too much darkness. Bedridden, there was no darkness to absorb, and the yellow in her eyes had long faded.

But his gaze boasted cruelty. It did when her world was destroyed, and it did every time he looked at her, with an expression quite the opposite of pity. As she trained, she recalled that gaze to push herself harder.

On the other hand, her concussion sparked something in her that she did not recognize. A piece of her felt dead, or missing, though she could not piece together why. Her magic was not a struggle to summon, but a struggle to control, and any heightened sense of emotion like surprise or anxiety made it wonkier.

"Perhaps what you need is to have some fun," said the Naminé, who hardly set foot outside the mansion.

"It's hard to do by yourself," replied Sayeh, who sat across from Naminé at the white table in her room. Her mind flashed to Azara, and she smiled when she remembered their time together. "Me and Azara would skip class, disguise ourselves, and window shop in the town market. All the food we used to eat, before I started…turning…"

"You're not as bad as you think you are, Sayeh."

Were that the case, she thought to herself, she could go hang out with Hayner and the gang. "Oh yes, I forgot, the subway."

Naminé paused in her coloring to look at Sayeh, the question floating in the air.

Sayeh pushed her bangs to the side and looked to her lap. "I saved Hayner and the gang, but used magic. Olette's the only one who remembers, but she's definitely scared of me. I've been avoiding them for a while."

"You and Riku do that a lot."

"Yeah…" Her mind drifted to Riku, in that moment among all the rubble of the courtyard in Hollow Bastion. The anger contorted his face as he yelled at her came clearly into her mind's eye, along with his desperate grip on her, as if to keep her from floating away.

"_Don't you realize how responsible I would've felt if you had died?"_

"I'm okay, because you found me," she mumbled.

"You mumble a lot, too," Naminé stated, still focused on her drawings.

Sayeh rose from the table and pushed her chair in. "Yeah, well, if you had nothing better to do, I would ask you to come with, but I guess I'm on my own, as per usual."

She made for the door, but found Riku standing there in the doorway, blocking it entirely. He stuck his head through the door and looked first to Naminé, then his eyes fell to her drawings, and then scanned Sayeh from the ground up. Then, he asked, "On your own for what?"

"I-I was just leaving for some rest and recreation—"

"I'm in," Riku decided without so much as asking. "What are we doing, anyway?"

Sayeh shrugged. "Haven't made up my mind yet. Any ideas?"

"We could spar," he said with a sly grin, "I haven't seen all your new tricks yet."

That was true, considering Sayeh had been gone a considerable length of time from the Mansion. Leon even taught her how to use her environment against her opponent. If she ever had to use a sword, maybe she could do some damage, but trying against an expert like Riku could prove humiliating. When she had some free time, Sayeh considered joining a small Struggle tournament just to test her skills thus far.

She sighed, "You do know that's the opposite of relaxing, right? That means getting beat up, and I know you don't hold back just because I'm a girl."

"If you want me to hold back, I can," he held his hands up in the air, "I don't want you to get down on yourself if you can't fight."

To her, it sounded like a challenge. He was brushing against her ego, and she knew it. Rest and recreation was totally out of question, as they found themselves in the forest where no one would hear.

"I can't believe we're about to fight," Sayeh mumbled as she stretched her legs and her arms. There was no warming up during the fight like there was against Heartless. Riku was a well-oiled machine, and she had to be on her game. "Okay, I'm ready. You?"

Riku was nowhere to be found. Sayeh scanned the trees and their branches above, searching for silver hair, but to no avail. Her nose caught his dark scent behind her and without thinking, she ducked and rolled away. He had tried to land a vertical slice on her, but barely missed.

She knocked into a tree root and scrambled to move again as he closed in on her once again, throwing a combo of hits her way, but managing to slice shallow cuts into the tree. He was trying to be gentle, but if the splitting bark proved anything to Sayeh, it was that even his soft side was deadly.

Suddenly, Sayeh realized she was panting. He made her clamber around a lot, and it was just the beginning.

"What's wrong? You're doing a lot of dodging. You can hit me, you know." Riku teased, shouldering his blade before holding it up overhead.

"Alright," Sayeh replied, finally coming up with a plan. She was going to hit him with some ice—she had recently learned how to make her magic follow a target. Sayeh could hurl the magic in one direction, then have it follow as she caught him and smacked him down.

The blizzard magic swirled around her, enveloping her in an ethereal blue before flying in all directions from her. She held out her hand to concentrate the magic and send it towards her target. Naturally, Riku slid out of the way. He made an inaudible jeer at her until he realized it was coming back, and this time, she aimed it to hit him in the backside.

As he concentrated avoiding the icicles, Sayeh moved between the trees, leapt onto a high branch, and brought down a blade made of ice. For the sake of the fight, she made it weak, so it would hurt him a little and then shatter, but not slice up his arm. She learned from fighting with Leon that ice made a very good sword, but could cause more harm in practice than good.

Sayeh then used her shoulder to push him in his chest, but just as she made to knock him to the ground, he grabbed her and forced her to the ground. Twigs dug into her stomach and her chest as she squirmed his grip, protesting. When he let go, he held his sword at her throat as she rolled over.

"He taught you swordplay," Riku stated, although the edge of his voice held some negative feeling in it. Could he have been jealous? Sayeh grinned at the thought.

"Yes, he did. I'm not very skilled at it, though."

"Let me see."

Once more, Sayeh made a blade of ice, only this time it was more like a blade than glass. And unlike Riku, she held it in front of her. She charged, and they began to spar.

Every time Riku crossed swords with her, Sayeh felt his energy pulsing through his blade. It fed off him, and used him to generate more power with each stroke. His physical strength also drove the blade well, and Sayeh gave her all not to lose her grip on the blade, especially when ice chipped from hers hit after hit. She locked eyes with him for one second and saw the purest expression of excitement on his face, as if he lived for moments like this. It touched her heart, sending pangs of some unknown feeling through her body and shifting her focus.

Just like that, her focus broke, along with her ice blade. Little pieces flew in all directions, causing both sparrers to shield their faces. Riku bubbled with laughter as Sayeh sat on the ground, dumbfounded.

"I forgot how fun this was!" He exclaimed between quieting chuckles, and offered a hand to Sayeh. "What's next?"

She shrugged without saying a word.

Riku, still excited, said, "If you're hungry, we can go to Sunset Hill. They have some nice places to eat…" He trailed off, his smile falling away. "We can't have our cloaks on, though."

"T-that's fine," she stuttered, trying to contain her unexpected excitement. "I just have to shower off, and I'll put something on."

As soon as they made it back into the mansion, both Riku and Sayeh departed for the different bathrooms, Riku to the one on the bottom level, and Sayeh to the one on the top. She watched him make his way inside and shut the door before she turned on her heel and dashed towards Naminé's room. She had to tell someone. She had to understand this feeling.

"Naminé!" Sayeh rasped, gently closing the door behind her. "Naminé!"

Naminé looked up at Sayeh, holding her aching wrist. "What is it?"

Sayeh leaned against the door, her chest rising and falling quickly. "I-I don't know—I'm really excited, because Riku is taking me somewhere, and for once we don't have to wear our cloaks…It'll be…It'll be…" She was at a loss for words.

"Normal?" Naminé offered.

"Normal!" Sayeh repeated. "It's like a date! Oh my goodness, he _likes_ me!"

Suddenly, Sayeh's face contorted in shock.

"He…likes me? W-why does he like me?"

Naminé shrugged, setting down her crayon and approached Sayeh. "You may have the powers of darkness, but you're a good person. He's a good person. And you two bond in battle, so…"

"I have to get ready! I told him I would get ready—Naminé, what is it?"

Suddenly, tears covered Naminé's face. Her following shock indicated Naminé did not know herself, and swept them from her face. She shook her head. "Nobodies aren't supposed to have feelings, but I think I am sad and jealous. I wish I could stop doing this and have fun, but Sora needs me. DiZ would never let me go, anyway."

"Does your wrist still hurt?" Sayeh asked, motioning to Naminé's grip on her arm. "Here, let me see."

Sayeh tookNaminé's wrist and focused her energy on it. With an incantation, energy swelled from Sayeh's hand to Naminé's leaving green streaks in the air around them. Naminé felt a pressure buildup in her joints, and then it dissipated, taking the pain with it.

"Oh! Thank you!" Naminé exclaimed, wriggling her brand new wrist.

"I can bring you some food back, if you like," Sayeh added after that, "You look like you haven't been eating much."

"Thank you! I would appreciate that."

Sayeh finally made towards the bathroom. She summoned ice and fire to create her own tub of water to soak in. All she could think about was why Riku would ever like her. Sure, they fought together, okay. But the history books Master Yen Sid gave her indicated that Riku and Sora were rivals for one of the Princesses of Heart. What was her name?

"Kairi," Sayeh whispered aloud, and shook her head. It felt weird to say, especially when it caused a pang of jealousy. Ironically, she did not even know how the girl looked, or why Riku liked her so much, but her stomach turned when she thought of this ghost of a girl who may still have Riku's heart.

Riku could just be taking her to lunch as friends, after all. That was a possibility she did not originally consider.

Her heart ached as she climbed out of the tub and let it drain.

Sayeh decided on casual wear she had made on a boring day, some loose blue trousers paired with a patterned blue and white top and a scarf. Instead of her bun, she braided her hair and threw her scarf over her head. She then stared herself down in the mirror, promising herself she would not be disappointed if it was just a friendly lunch date.

Riku waited for her downstairs in clothes she had never seen him wear: baggy jeans, a black mock neck tank, covered by a yellow and white vest. He looped his thumb in a belt loop, and slouched as he looked up at the mansion ceiling.

Instead of looking for a reaction from him on her new clothes, she watched her feet descend the stairs and walked ahead of him out the door.

Even on the train, Sayeh was quiet. While Riku yammered on about sword technique, she reflected on Kairi and the possibility that Riku thought of her only as a friend. When he looked like he needed input, she would nod and affirm what he said as she adjusted her scarf or played with her rings.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, concerned. "You haven't spoken much since we left."

She nodded. "I'm fine. The bath made me tired, is all."

The way he stared at her made her think he was unconvinced, but he acquiesced anyway. He then went on to describe where they were going. "It's a restaurant with a lot of seafood, since Sunset Hill is not far from the beach."

"Seafood?"

"Yeah, what, you've never had it?" Riku leaned forward in his seat across from her, interested. "Please tell me you've had seafood!"

"Nope," she replied with a smile, "I come from the mountains. More stews and stuff like that."

Riku dipped his head back, as if physically taken aback by her reply.

In the restaurant, they sat from across each other, quiet as ever. Sayeh dropped her scarf onto her shoulders, crossing her arms as she rested them on the table. Riku tapped a finger on the table while he read the menu.

"I'll get the number three," He finally told the waiter. "Sayeh?"

Sayeh folded the menu on the table. None of the items sounded truly appetizing if it had crustaceans in it, but the fish Riku ordered was fine. "Um, the same. Hey Riku, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he answered with a light chuckle.

"What's Kairi like?"

He paused confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Naminé told me that Sora and you were both fighting to protect her before I came along," Sayeh lied. "I bet she was cute."

"She was a good person, inside and out," He summarized, his eyebrows knitting together. Up went his defenses just that quick. "She was a Princess of Heart. What else did Naminé tell you?"

"Just that. She didn't get into it much." There. That would be enough to keep him from asking Naminé himself. She embellished her lie with a twitching smile.

"She's waiting for us back home, but I have to bring Sora, too. Hence," Riku waved his arms around him, "All this."

"I'll be happy to help you get back home to your girlfriend." It was a sly jab, and it took everything in her being to keep her energy level, to keep him from noticing the jealousy. She propped her head up on one hand as she switched subjects. "I just wish I had somewhere to go home to. But my world is permanently destroyed."

"Well," Riku paused. Hope continued to build during his silence, and Sayeh willed him to say she could come along to his homeland. "There's always Twilight Town."

Instantly, she was crushed. She was playing with her fork at first, but dropped it when he mentioned their current world. It clattered to the ground in the silence, and Sayeh snatched it and threw it back on the table. From then on, her hands trembled with disappointment underneath the table.

"How did it go?" Naminé asked as soon as they returned. Riku had gone downstairs to check on DiZ, so Sayeh checked on Naminé.

Sayeh answered plainly, "It didn't. He's still set on Kairi. But it's okay, I'll get over it."

"I can't imagine how hard it must be."

"Oh, ha-ha," Sayeh mumbled, holding back a sniffle, "A Nobody pun. I'm going to turn in for the day—"

"You should stop feeling bad about yourself all the time. No one will like you if you don't like yourself first. Look at me, I'm a witch…but I am content with my purpose. It's why you don't hear me complain that I am trapped in this room all day."

Sayeh turned to Naminé, who had packed away all her things and shuffled the drawn memories.

"Sora taught me that I had to stand up for myself, to myself. I'm not as bad as I may think I am," she tucked a blonde hair behind her ear before continuing. "The same goes for you. Riku may still hold feelings for Kairi, but it doesn't make you a terrible person. You're my best friend, Sayeh."

Naminé smiled when she saw Sayeh's shoulders relax as if the sadness slid down her body and puddled on the floor.

"You know what, Naminé? I'll be right back." Sayeh made for the door.

"Hm? Where are you going?"

"You and me are gonna have a girl's night, like I used to with Azara! I'm going to get some junk for us to eat, and I'll pick up some nail polish and stuff—Azara always said I was great at nails!"

The rest of the night was spent telling stories about the past over ice cream and noodle soup. Naminé rivaled Sayeh's ability to paint small fruits onto nails. They played charades and other games throughout the night with little disturbance from the guys. Despite the little they had, Sayeh had not felt happier—it reminded her of being home.

The next morning, Sayeh worked on her training. She ran early in the morning when Twilight Town was more of a ghost town. At noontime, she ate by herself in the ruined dining room, and then resumed to climbing the trees to build strength.

The trees in the forest were always high, and the branches were fragile, meaning that climbing took on a challenge of balance and mental strategy. With the wrong amount of pressure in the wrong place, Sayeh could break a limb and fall.

As a kid, she had once climbed the highest tree to the top on a dare. On her way back down, she had fallen and hit many branches on the way down. The teachers were so mad at her for climbing the tree, and yet, she felt accomplished even in her fall that day. Perhaps it was the care that the teachers showed even in their anger, or maybe it was proving to her peers that she could rise to the occasion.

"_There's always Twilight Town…_"

"Shut up," she snapped at the memory through gritted teeth. Suddenly, with her focus broken, her foot slipped. Sayeh grabbed for the strongest limb at eye level, but she lost her grip. Branches thrashed at her on her way down, and she could hear the voices of her long-gone classmates laughing at her demise.

Before she hit the ground, she cast a bubble of gravity as her landing mat to break her fall. A heavy sigh left her mouth as she turned about in the bubble of manipulated space when she caught sight of Riku. The flutter in her heart sent waves of confusion and betrayal surging through her body—she cherished the sight of him, especially without his blindfold, but she was angry at him.

"Nice job," he joked, to which she scoffed.

Sayeh released the spell, and fell into a safety roll into the grass. "You broke my concentration."

"How so? I just walked outside."

"Don't act like we can't feel each other's energy," she said, rolling her eyes. Sayeh grabbed her towel from a nearby boulder and wiped the sweat from her face. "What with the whole darkness thing."

Riku crossed him arms. "Are you mad at me for something? You were fine until we went to eat yesterday. Were you offended by the food?"

She stared at him. Could he not have been a bigger idiot? She sighed. "No, it wasn't that. Look, I don't want to talk about it. Since Hollow Bastion I've been off, so…"

It was the truth. Since Hollow Bastion, something has been amiss inside her, but her magic was fine. Her darkness was in skulking in the shadows of her heart, like the mountain lions back home did after a huge meal.

"…Well," Riku continued. "I wanted to see if you…wanted to come along to check out this one world."

No further words were exchanged between them as Sayeh climbed up to a thick branch and reclined on its fork. "Is it a serious case?"

"Not really."

"Then I'll sit this one out."

"Sayeh…" He clucked his teeth then stalked back to the Mansion to ready for his departure.

Part of her felt like she made a mistake. She was supposed to be helping him, but here she was being a brat because he belonged to another. He was never hers, and yet she felt possessive. Inwardly, Sayeh chastised herself for being so emotional, but she could not go back on her word now.

Well, she could. The other half of her really wanted to apologize and join him.

But the reluctant half was stronger, and kept her lying in the tree branches for half the day. It was when Naminé snuck out of the Mansion and called to Sayeh that she woke and leapt from the tree. In her landing she stumbled, but Naminé paid it no mind. Her fidgeting hands shined with a glossy pink, with gold flowers randomly strewn about the nails. Sayeh smiled at her handiwork before acknowledging Naminé.

"What's up?"

"You didn't go with Riku?" Naminé asked, confused.

Sayeh shook her head, brushing bark and pine needles from her clothes. "No, didn't want to."

"Yes you did," she replied, "You're just being stubborn."

"Guilty. But look! You're outside the mansion!"

Naminé scanned around frantically, possibly looking for someone who might take her back to the Mansion. "I am. With Riku away, I can slip out unnoticed. DiZ won't care to check on me."

"Alright," Sayeh put her hands on her hips. "So what do you want to do, you little fugitive?"

Upon Naminé's insistence, they got ice cream and toured Twilight Town. Though she arrived by train from Castle Oblivion, never before had she seen the world in its entirety. She enjoyed window shopping in Market Street, and watching a local keep a fragile ball in the air for a long time. The Sandlot held little interest for the both of them, so they rode the tram up to the train station.

Naminé gawked at the height of the building, her neck craned backward so her eyes could reach the top. "What a tall building!"

"Yes, it is," Sayeh agreed, throwing her scarf over her shoulder. "Did you want to take the train to—"

For once, she saw him before she felt him. A tall, lanky man in a black coat wandered out from the subway, toting a bag of sea salt ice cream. The way he leaned with his shoulders back as he walked gave a carefree impression, but not like the one Xigbar bore. Nevertheless, it was an Organization XIII member.

The longer she stared at him, the less time it took for him to notice her presence, as well as Naminé's. The blonde took a step behind Sayeh.

"Why if it isn't Naminé!" The man dropped his hood, revealing red, spiked hair. Never before had Sayeh met this one. "Glad to see you made it out of Castle Oblivion in one piece. And you are?"

"Your friend Xigbar's worst nightmare!" Sayeh spat, darkness already emanating from her palms. It burned with the same vigor as her hatred for the eyepatch-wearing bastard.

Unfortunately, it did not intimidate the red-haired man. Instead, he chuckled. "You? Oh, I'll let him know. He'll get a kick out of that. Why don't you relax? I'm not here to fight."

"Sure. Who are you?"

"The name's Axel. And I'm serious." Though he smiled, the grave edge in his tone indicated the truth in his words. "If I was, you'd be toast."

Naminé grabbed Sayeh's arm, careful not to touch the darkness slithering up to her wrists. "Sayeh, we should go."

"Look closely," Axel pointed to the clock above. "There are two other Organization XIII members. I'm sure they can see everything from up there. Not that they'll have a chance to reach you after I'm done with you. So, run along."

Sayeh looked again to the Clock Tower and first noticed the girl from the Beast's Castle. She was the girl that told Riku he was a sham. Next to her sat Riku's target, the other half of Sora's being.

Realizing who it was, she breathed, "Roxas."

She shoved away Naminé and charged up the building, planning to use her spells to scale the tower.

"No you don't!" She heard behind her, and suddenly, fiery metal struck her leg and made her fall.

Instead of falling to the ground, she kicked off the wall and rolled away from Axel who charged her the second she touched pavestone. He encircled her in fire, but she froze it and sent it hurling towards him.

Axel's chakrams yo-yoed between him and her as she deflected each one with a fresh ice blade. She knocked one out of his reach, causing him to rush away and retrieve it.

When he finally reached it, he turned and pointed it at her throat, just as she had the blade slid against his. "They both have Keyblades—have you seen what those things do? If they notice us fighting down here, you'll be a goner."

Naminé pleaded from the steps of the station. "Please, Sayeh! Let's go home."

"No!" Sayeh screamed. "Sora needs Roxas, and Roxas is right there! He's in our backyard!"

Axel smirked. "Alright, don't say I didn't warn you."

Just as he pulled back his other chakram to deal a critical blow, a hand grabbed Sayeh's collar and yanked her back into a familiar, damp, and muggy Corridor of Darkness.

"Oh thank goodness," Naminé wheezed. With her hands on her knees, she struggled to catch her breath. "That was too close."

"Naminé!" Sayeh screeched. "He was _right there_!"

"You're not strong enough!" Naminé retorted. "Riku can barely fight Roxas as it stands. No offense, but what can you do?"

As much as Naminé was right, it hurt Sayeh's feelings. Were Riku here, maybe they could have taken Roxas out together. Her world would be avenged, Sora would be complete, and maybe this freak show of a universe could keep going.

Naminé sniffled in the darkness. She must have been crying. "I'm sorry Sayeh. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings—"

"No, you're right," she admitted. "L-let's just get back home. Axel can't get us there, can he?"

"No."

"Okay, let's go then."

When Riku returned, neither one of them said a word. They pretended to have remained in the Mansion the entire time. He could look at either one of them and tell they were lying about what they did that day, but decided it was foolish to bug them, so he left it alone.

The excitement of the day forced Naminé deep into her work, so much so that her production doubled. DiZ was confused, but none the wiser. Sayeh quietly left a bowl of ice cream with Naminé as an apology for what happened. She passed Riku in the hallway just as he was about to say something, but she brushed past him and remained in her room for the rest of the night.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Woo. Sorry for the hiatus guys. I work and go to school full-time. It's been hard, and I've been tired. I also forgot where I wanted to go with this, so I had to regroup and write the whole story out in big chunks to further define the story. I also have some new fanart and may possibly have a MMD request in the making going on. We shall see! If you go to my deviantArt, aylakocak, you'll find my newest submission, a "sketch" of Sayeh. It's much better than the old, digitized one, I promise.


	7. Peeping Through The Keyhole

Chapter 7: Peeping Through The Keyhole

* * *

Sayeh woke, like any other day. She donned a new tunic and trousers, and swung into the White Room. Much to Sayeh's confusion, Naminé was not sitting at the end of the white table with the white flowers, sketching away Sora's memories. She was also not in the bedroom beside the White Room. Checking every room, she found no Naminé.

Instead, she found Riku in the dining room, picking away at some fruit. There was no delight on his face, only exhaustion. Perhaps he was having a hard time without her, because Riku look as he did before Sayeh arrived in Twilight Town—dark circles around his bright eyes, though now hidden under a blindfold. His brawny shoulders sunk in on his body, and his movements lacked their usual, fine coordination. When he looked in her direction, acknowledging her, Sayeh averted her attention to the floor. Her hair lapped over her shoulders and further curtained her view.

"I can't find Naminé," she stated in her raspy morning voice.

Riku turned back to his morning breakfast, pushing it away. "I think she's downstairs with DiZ."

He followed Sayeh to the laboratory downstairs. On the giant collection of monitors read vitals for Sora, Donald and Goofy. DiZ was not in his seat, pecking away commands on the keyboard. Each progress meter showed some stalling—Riku had closely counted each percent over the course of months.

A spike of energy shot out from Riku, an indicator of his anxiety. In return, Sayeh shot one back. They shared the same terrible thought, that Roxas was somehow the problem in all this. It then brought Sayeh back several weeks, when she had seen him high on the Clock Tower, and had neglected to tell Riku or DiZ that the enemy ate sea salt ice cream in their backyard. A swarm of butterflies set loose in Sayeh's stomach.

Naminé and DiZ stared at the pod holding Sora within. Quietly, Riku and Sayeh entered the chamber, and listened to Naminé's words.

"She."

"She?" DiZ repeated, stunned.

Everyone was confused by her words, but no one said a word. DiZ returned back to his computers, and wordlessly watched his programs; Riku, Naminé and Sayeh left for upstairs.

Naminé returned to the White Room with Riku quick on her heels. Sayeh had intended to follow the other two, but when she made it to the door, Riku shut it and locked it on her. She cursed in protest, but realized she could look and listen through the keyhole.

Naminé's and Riku's voices were muffled, but Sayeh got an idea of the conversation.

"You made me a promise," Riku growled.

Naminé bowed her head and curled in on herself at the table. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I've kept that promise very well."

"Can you tell me what's happening?"

"Some of Sora's memories are missing."

"How could that be?"

"Sora's memories are escaping through Sora's Nobody into a third person…and now they're starting to become part of her."

Her. Who was she? Sayeh tried to think of the Organization XIII members encountered thus far. There was her nemesis, Xigbar, and Axel, Roxas, and…

"Xion." The name passed on a breath.

Riku asked, "Isn't there a way to bring back just Sora's memories?"

"If they're still separate," Naminé answered, "then I think I can take out fragments of it. But, if her memories and Sora's memory fragments are completely weaved together, I would need to untangle them from each other and that would take more time. Which means that it would take even longer before Sora can wake up again. And DiZ wouldn't tolerate that."

Sayeh felt for Naminé. The weight of the universe practically rested on the girl's shoulders. Had she a heart, she would probably scream and cry—Sayeh would. Naminé spent day and night restoring Sora's memories, only for Xion to get in the way. But how was Roxas transferring these memories to Xion? That was the confusing part.

Riku sighed. "So what can you do?"

"If I just jump in and rearrange her memory, then Sora might wake up, only to find that nobody remembers him anymore." Naminé drooped even more. "That's a risk I just can't take. It's too late either way. Sora's awakening has already been delayed."

Between Riku's reaction and Naminé's pseudo-disappointment, Sayeh found her heart aching. She did not belong in this world. She was an outsider, sent here by the universe to help these people. Her jealousy for someone worlds away affected this outcome. Had Sayeh been helping Riku find Roxas, maybe this problem would go away. Maybe Sayeh would not have to be enveloped in Riku's ever-growing grief. He cycled through so many emotions lately that all it tossed her about—she did not have to be in the same room. If he was angry, hot flashes forced sweat from Sayeh's pores. If he felt sadness, it splashed her like a bucket of cold water. She could have helped the situation and she did not.

Tears sprung from the corners of her eyes. She failed. These people were her friends and she failed them. Sayeh bit her lip to keep from audibly crying, and continued peeping through the keyhole.

"Sora's Nobody, and the one that's absorbing his memory…None of us imagined that they would fight so hard to become their own people. Unfortunately, the only real solution is for them both to go away." Naminé fidgeted in her seat. "Did you know her face was blank at first? But now, there is a face that is clearly visible. I think that's proof that she has entered Sora's memories. Sora's memories, Sora's Nobody's memories, and her memories…They're all a jumbled mess now. And to put them back into one…" She looked Riku in the eye. "I'm afraid there's no other way."

Xion and Roxas had to be destroyed.

"All right." With that, Riku left his seat and made for the door.

Before Sayeh could scramble away, Riku unlocked the door and opened it, only to find her on the floor, crying.

"Why…?" Riku could not form the rest of the sentence, but Sayeh knew what he was asking.

Sayeh wiped the tears from her eyes even as more came. "I could've helped…I could've helped make this easier."

"It's not your fault," Riku replied, offering a hand. "We didn't see this coming."

"But still! I'm so sorry, Riku. I failed you guys. I was sent here to help you, not sit around Twilight Town, and that's what I did! I'm such a loser…"

"Well, you didn't just sit around. You were training. I watched."

Riku helped Sayeh to her feet. When she was steady, he brushed her bangs out of her eyes and smiled. Though it held little happiness, it held sincerity. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Let's put that training to work. We gotta figure out where Xion is."

Naminé gave them a few ideal places to start. Xion was connecting with Sora's memories. Ones that stood out thus far were the times in Hollow Bastion and in Destiny Islands. Sayeh suggested they split up to cover more ground, but Riku declined. In his gut, he knew which of the places to choose: Destiny Islands.

Sayeh readied her enchanted clothes given to her by the fairies of the Mysterious Tower, ensuring they were clean and in decent condition. She worked hard to cleanse the clothing of its stains, as the cloth could already mend itself. Adorning herself with rings and bracelets that would ward off unwanted darkness side effects, she finally felt ready. Her hair was tied back into its bun, and the darkness within her quietly sat in its metaphorical cage until Sayeh needed it.

Riku interrupted her thoughts by knocking on the doorframe. "Are you almost ready?"

Sayeh nodded, adding one last bracelet to her wrist. "How are we traveling? Should I bring my black coat?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'll be in the foyer."

"No, no, I'm ready, we can leave right now," she insisted, thrusting her arms through the coat's sleeves. She flipped up the hood and opened a portal in her very room.

He raised a brow. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Yes, Destiny Islands. I can get us there, I'm sure."

Not without hesitation did Riku step into the portal, and Sayeh followed after him.

The walk was generally quiet. He had a lot on his mind, and Sayeh was not going to push the envelope. She still felt a heavy amount of guilt for allowing it to get this far. To deal with the anxiety, Sayeh played with her rings and her bracelets.

One thought came to mind—the way Naminé explained it, everyone should have forgotten Sora, so how did Riku remember him?

"Hey Riku," Sayeh asked, "How come you can remember Sora?"

"I'm not sure," he answered. "I went through Castle Oblivion just like he did. Maybe that's what it is."

"What is Castle Oblivion?"

"It was an Organization XIII hideout. They tried to turn me back to the dark, and make Sora their puppet. It didn't work, because Sora is strong, and…"

"And you're strong. You're really strong." Sayeh blushed when she realized how much she was gushing over him. She pinched herself as a way to distract herself.

Oh, but she could smell his scent of darkness. As cold and dank as she perceived it, it was comforting because it was his. It had also grown a delicious note that Sayeh could not place, but found it intoxicating nonetheless.

"Focus," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head. "Focus, focus, focus."

"Is it that hard to be around me?" Riku questioned. "I hear you say that a lot, the focus thing. I can feel your energy building a shield around you."

Tell him. She wanted to, badly. "No, it's just that I absorb energy easily, so I try not to take yours. Remember? You don't like it when I do that. How long is it going to take for us to reach Destiny Islands?"

"Any time now. I see the end."

They both saw a small speck of light that would soon give way to the end of the Corridor, and Destiny Islands would be available for them both. Sayeh's heart raced at the thought of learning about Riku's home, and of course, the beach! It was not a time to relax, but no doubt there would be walking on the shore.

Destiny Islands was full of giant palm trees and ocean for miles. The sea water lapped at white sands. Circuits of tree houses ran through the forefront of the lush, green forest behind them. There was one thing missing, and that was people.

"Where are all the people?" Sayeh wondered aloud, following Riku with a tourist's gaze.

He pointed towards a clay path off to the side that led to a town. "Only the kids play on this island. It's a school day, so we are free to roam the island. It'd make it easier to find Xion, too."

"Do you think she is already here?"

Riku shrugged. "We can split up and look around."

"Then I'll take the jungle. I'm curious to see what kind of animals you got."

"The jungle can be dangerous," Riku responded. "We were never allowed in—one time I dared Sora to go in, and he was chased out by a hog. We hid in the tree houses all afternoon until it rained!"

He let out a slight chuckle at the memory and it made Sayeh's heart ache. Why did Organization XIII have to disturb people's lives like this? Riku could be back on this island with Sora and Kairi, having a ball. He would be in school, staring out the window, yearning to return to his treehouses and games.

On the other hand, she would be heavily medicated and reduced to nothing more than a forever-patient or a war hero. If the past few months were any indication, war hero would not be the winning possibility. So while part of her hurt for the wrongs done upon Riku and his friends, Sayeh was grateful for the opportunity.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Sayeh pushed back her hood and started on her way into the jungle.

Instantly, Sayeh noticed a variety of greens, some she could not describe with a name. Leaves came in every shape and size, some small like grains of rice, and others bigger than her head. She brushed past them, stumbling between uneven levels of land. Birds squawked overhead at her arrival, and were easily seen because of their vibrant contrasts to the verdant canopies. Sayeh let out a small gasp as the birds flitted from tree to tree. This world was much different than her mountain home, and different from all the worlds she had visited thus far.

A sudden movement from a far off bush alerted Sayeh to a visitor. At first, she wondered if it was a hog, like Riku talked about. But the shadow was tall enough to be Xion, and moved as if it walked on two legs.

"Xion!" Sayeh called, and the shadow took off.

She surged through the bush as quick as she could, careful attention paid to the land. Hopping across a stream, she tailed the shadowy figure to a pond before it took to the trees. Sayeh climbed the tree as quick as she could, making it to the first branch with ease. This tree was far different from the ones at Twilight Town, more fragile in nature. Still, she was confident in her ability to ascend the tree, until a branch snapped on her and had her dangling from a high place.

"Xion!" She called again, and the shadow stopped and turned toward her. It approached, chittering, and revealed itself to be nothing more than a black and white monkey. "You're not Xion…great, I've been chasing a monkey."

Sayeh let go of the branch and braced herself to stick the landing, but the ground beneath her was muddy. Instead of gracefully landing on her feet, her shoes stuck deeper in the mud and she fell over. She let out a cry of frustration.

Those shoes were only special because they came from home. No one else made shoes like them, and no other shoes truly matched her clothes such as these. She refused to leave without them. Pulling at her shoes, they finally wrenched free of the mud, but the force knocked Sayeh into the pond behind her.

A shout of irritation. "I hate this island!"

A wet Sayeh spent the next hour searching through the jungle until she reached the other side. There were no signs of Xion, only more monkeys and mud. Sand became the barrier between the jungle and the sea, which again, spanned endlessly to the horizon. The only difference here was that the sun now hid behind some dark clouds, threatening to drown the islands in rain.

Before leaving, she noticed a long dock leading to a smaller island. On it stood a low swinging trunk of a tree with star-shaped fruit. Sayeh recalled it from one of Naminé's many drawings that Sora, Riku and Kairi hung out there a lot. Unfortunately, she forgot if the star-shaped fruit held any significance other than consumption.

Another thing caught her eye. Near the large waterfall behind her was a dark area, which looked like a cave of some sort. Back home, caves equated to bears, but on a tropical island, Sayeh strong doubted that relationship in this circumstance. The cave was barely noticeable with all the vines that had nearly overtaken the entrance, but it piqued Sayeh's curiosity nonetheless. She entered the damp cave, the waterfall quieting the further she went in. Muttering a spell, she summoned fire in her palm and cradled it.

The cave seemed shallow, because she had met the end of it quickly—it opened up into a small circular area. It struck her odd that a door might be at the far end of this cave, especially without so much as a handle. Pushing on it gave way to nothing.

Instead, Sayeh admired the small drawings on the wall. A few pieces of chalk and rocks sat on the ground underneath each picture. One picture remotely looked like Sora, with an arrow and the word "stupid" pointing at him. Another picture was a mural of the islands, though the trees resembled spiders on sticks instead of palms. Lastly, a picture of a short-haired girl and Sora exchanging the star fruit was at the bottom, and based on the wear of each picture, it was the newest.

"Kairi," Sayeh said aloud in realization, "But why are they sharing those fruits?"

A rumble outside alerted Sayeh to worsening conditions; crouching, she came to a stand and left the cave, glancing back one last time at the sharing of the star shaped fruit.

"I guess I better make it back…"

She spent another hour walking the path she took across the island. When it first started to rain, it barely made it through the thick canopy. Only a drizzle came in. It was only when the rain got heavier that it forced through holes in the canopy. The jungle became a forest of water spouts before long. Sayeh's already wet clothes never seemed to dry by the time she made to back to Riku, who had taken shelter in the shack on the shore.

"Nothing?" Sayeh asked, and Riku shook his head.

A grin spread on his mouth when he took the sight of Sayeh in. Her neat little bun had loosened over time, with hair spilling out on the back. The hem of her coat and her shoes were not only wet, but incredibly muddy. Lastly, small streaks of dirt sat on her face.

"I forgot to tell you it was muddy in there," He laughed, switching on a lamp to light up the shack.

Sayeh crossed her arms and scowled. "The rain didn't help either. I thought this island's weather would never change, just like Twilight Town."

"Twilight Town's weather doesn't change because it's in the center of light and darkness. Destiny Islands is not even close to Twilight Town, hence the travel time."

Riku had taken off the blindfold, another rare moment of his. The curiosity of the blindfold hit Sayeh with swiftness, so while she shrugged out of her black coat, she asked. "Why do you wear that blindfold?"

"It's my way of dealing with the darkness in me." His reply was curt, and his bright eyes lost the ability to lock with hers. He, too, shrugged out of his coat, though his was much drier than hers.

She could sense how sensitive the topic was, so she switched to something else. "Oh yeah, I saw a lot of these star-shaped fruit lying around. I've never seen anything like those."

"They're called Paopu." That was all that was said on the topic.

In the silence, Sayeh took a look around the shack. There was a small bed with some folded blankets and a lumpy pillow huddle in the corner. A small stool sat next to Riku, who chose to sit on the floor and sharpen a blade. A rack on the wall meant for towels seemed like a great place to hang her soiled coat. She also kicked off her shoes at the doorstep, and sat on the floor across from Riku.

"You're very quiet," Sayeh noticed.

He slowed in his task. "We have to find Xion."

"I don't think she is here yet. I'm sure that maybe, between the two of us, we would feel her presence…why are you sharpening that blade?"

Riku sighed, and she was sure he was frustrated by her curiosity. "If we're going to be here a while, I might as well spear some fish and make us food."

"Spear?" Sayeh laughed, more in an attempt to lighten the mood than in actual humor. She lied on her side. "You can't catch them with your hands?"

"Can you?" He raised a brow and wrinkled his nose, offended by the challenge. "And without magic?"

Before her parents relinquished custody of her, she lived near a big river bed. Her father taught her from an early age how to catch fish, as well as climb trees—though nowadays, all she did was fall from trees.

"With my bare hands!" Sayeh exclaimed, watching Riku's bewilderment. "I lived in the mountains. There were no shortcuts in life."

"Oh, I'm dying to see this."

The rain eventually slowed, and as it drizzled, the sun began to poke out of the clouds. Sayeh took this opportunity to search the other shack, which held nothing more than floats, towels, and spare swimsuits. She frowned when she held up a navy-striped one that showed more skin than she was comfortable showing. The back of the bottoms read a name in all caps: SELPHIE. At this point, her clothes were too heavy from rain and would not dry. She desperately needed to wash the mud from everything including herself. Selphie, whoever she was, and her bathing suit were doing Sayeh a great service right now, whether Sayeh liked it or not.

Sayeh kept her bangles and anklets on, retied her hair in a bun, and walked into the sun in Selphie's bathing suit.

"Oh, there you are!" Riku said, bent over a spear on the shore without looking up. "I'm dying to see you catch a fish with your bare hands—"

When he glanced at her, he did a double take. Riku himself did not have a shirt on, so Sayeh had to look somewhere else out of mutual embarrassment. In fact, she crowded herself, pulling at the swimsuit bottoms in an attempt to cover more of her bum. "Selphie likes to keep it small, it seems."

"Um, y-yeah…" An obvious blush had formed on Riku's face. "S-so the fish…"

At first, the water felt cold from the passing rain, but Sayeh fought to ignore it. Above their heads, Sayeh summoned a cloud of water, and shoved it into a gravity bubble. The hardest part about hand fishing would be throwing them up into the water cloud, and not losing the cloud. Her mind would be segmented between fishing, and keeping her magic above her head.

She stood stock still, knee-deep, as hand-sized fish mingled their way into shallow waters. The fish shied away from the motion of Riku's quick stabbing, but he caught some, nonetheless, and tossed them into the cloud above. The fish swam closer and closer, and she slowly reached closer and closer into the water. With a quick snatch, she yanked it from the water and threw it upward.

Riku gasped in disbelief, following with a joke, "So you are useful!"

"Shut up!" She said back, and tossed another one into the water cloud. Soon enough, Sayeh had caught half of their fish by hand.

The fish were skinned and tossed over a fire, where they baked and were served with slices of coconut meat and paopu. Riku told Sayeh that he always cooked for the other kids on the island, and laughed when he was reminded that Sayeh was wearing Selphie's swimsuit.

They shared dinner on the beach, and after that, Sayeh offered to wash anything that might have been muddied. She intended to clean them back at the waterfall, after she had rinsed herself of seawater, too. He declined, saying he was fine.

Sayeh rinsed off in the waterfall as quickly as she could—she noticed the sun falling, and wanted to get back to shack before it fell completely. She stripped out of Selphie's swimsuit and hopped in, dunking herself completely underwater. Rubbing the salt from her skin, she thought of Riku without his shirt on, or his eyes, or his smile…

Her eyes flew open. She could die of embarrassment! Thinking of her partner like that, especially when he liked someone else. She released a deep sigh before dunking herself again.

Her tunic was long and clean enough to cover her body while she slept, so she put it back on. She dragged the bucket of freshwater for laundry back with her to the other side of the island, using the shoreline this time instead of the muddy jungle.

Riku had taken care to destroy the fire and its remnants while she was gone, ensuring that people would be less likely to find them. A small glow emanated from the shack, and Riku's silhouette flickered about.

"I'm back," Sayeh announced, her long, wet hair spilling over her shoulder and sticking to her arms. "The bucket you found was helpful."

"I figured it make more sense, since night was coming," Riku shrugged.

He had laid out a makeshift bed of his cloak and some blankets on the floor, and had arranged the cot nicely for her. Riku rolled onto his back and supported his head with his hands, staring at the ceiling. He traced the rings in the wood and counted the waves that crashed on the shore.

In the corner, Sayeh wished she had a brush to get the mud out. She tried her hardest not to further smudge it into the shoes and the pants, but blotting could only do so much. Eventually, she dumped it all in the bucket and left it alone—the dirt would have to fall out by itself.

"Will you be okay on the floor?" Sayeh asked before she thought about what she was asking.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he mumbled, rolling to his side.

She pinched her arm, reminding herself to get a grip. "Okay, well, goodnight."

"Goodnight." He switched off the lamp.

The night would have passed quickly, but something in Sayeh kept waking her and alerting her to a strong presence. She would wake, her heart pounding, but nothing was around. She sensed nothing except Riku's presence, so Sayeh would return back to sleep.

And it happened again, and again.

Finally, it woke her up and she fought sleep to see if whatever was waking her would try again while she was conscious. A rush of energy pulsed from Riku in chaotic fits—why had she never felt this before? It hit her hard and forced adrenaline through her system.

She could barely see in the dark, but there was nothing to see. He was still, with not so much as a twitch. Perhaps his dreams elicited a jump in his ability to balance his darkness. It reminded her of when she could not control it, and things would break around her.

Throughout the night, it continued. Sayeh guessed it was her proximity that made her vulnerable, because it never happened at the Mansion. It was both annoying and concerning. Should she wake him, or would he be upset? Should she stay up all night? Or should she use her own darkness to create a shield while she slept?

Could she cast sleep on herself?

All these questions came at night.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm having the hardest time keeping track of the game and how well my story lines up with it. Oh my goodness, so difficult. I'm surprised I got another chapter out, and I worked really hard to stretch it. I may go back and add information to the previous chapters—I won't change the plot, just fill it with more than just dialogue. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for reading!

And also, Janet Varney (Voice Actress of Korra, LOK) is declared Sayeh's voice actress. Just so you know.


	8. Auxiliary

Chapter 8: Auxiliary

* * *

Sleep avoided Sayeh all night. With Riku's energy constantly knocking on the door of her own, she found it hard to get rest. So when Riku tried to wake her the next day, it was useless, because she was exhausted.

Riku put on his coat and left the shack, in search for two things—food and Xion. Something had woken him up, so he thought that it had to be Xion. He turned back to look at Sayeh one last time before leaving her on the cot. Her tunic had hiked up her legs, but did not show anything in particular. All that thick hair of hers covered her face. He wondered how she could even breathe with such a mass concealing her face, but concluded that it was a girl thing.

Outside he thought of his home around him—the warm sun beaming down, the crashing waves, the scent of the sea…all these things that were tossed away like a toy some time ago. He had only come back to a fake version of Destiny Islands, in Castle Oblivion. Zexion had toyed with his mind.

His head started to ache. Riku tried to shake it off.

"_You destroyed your home!"_ He could hear Zexion's words again. The Nobody was not wrong.

A girl at the shoreline distracted him. Riku took notice of the coat when she bent to pick up a shell.

Within seconds, he watched her turn, a name leaving her lips, and a new presence joined those on the island. Sora's Nobody, it had to be, but he could not discern a face well enough to confirm.

Xion, curled into a ball on the islet, cried out in pain. She held her head between her hands, and her body arched before coiling back in again. At first, Riku was unsure of what was happening, until he reminded himself of Naminé's words.

The girl was a puppet, and she absorbed memories. It was probably a struggle to do so, and right now it looked like she would break any second now.

All night, Riku had dreams of Ansem. Once again, Ansem jeered at him, and made him feel weak for playing with too much darkness. But he tempted him more, because Ansem wanted that control over Riku. He had little confidence in himself even after Castle Oblivion. He was scared that Ansem would take him over if he used the darkness often.

On the other hand, sometimes Riku needed that extra power, that extra push. It not only wonderful to wield alone, but his enemies felt his wrath. He was able to express himself. To deny himself of such a thing, well, he would be weak once more. Sora would never wake, because he could not save a damned thing.

His strategy today would be to gently convince Xion. Engaging in battle edged him closer to becoming one with Ansem, and he could not have that. In her weakened state, she might be easier to convince, instead of having to annihilate her there. With that face of hers, it would be hard to do…

Sayeh stumbled over herself trying to throw on clothes. First went her trousers, then her coat, and her shoes. She used magic to dry it all off, all the while wondering why she never considered learning elemental magic earlier, because life was less of a hassle with it. Braiding her hair and throwing the hood over, she ran outside to find Riku.

Sure enough, he was on the islet, holding a small form in his arms. The way he angled himself over her was protective, as if she was someone dear to him.

"Riku!" Sayeh called, striding across the pier. "Is that…Xion?"

He did not say anything, but his energy spoke volumes. There was something throbbing within his aura, and upon closer inspection, he seemed to be crumbling. A sweat too early for the day trickled down his temple. Riku's jaw locked shut. He was bearing a pain, but of what she did not know.

"Are you okay? I can try to fix it—"

"No," Riku replied weakly. "Just leave it."

Sayeh took a step back, unsure of what was going on. Did he defeat her? Was he caring for her? She crossed her arms in confusion, and waited some feet away.

Suddenly, Xion stirred, giving a weak whimper as she did. They watched as her eyes opened, and she looked between the sky and Riku.

"You are…?"

"Riku—Sora's friend."

They went back and forth about Sora and Kairi. Once again, Sayeh felt out of place, like she did not belong in any of this. But of course, she had to remind herself, she was simply auxiliary. This would be the first and last time visiting Destiny Islands, and then Twilight Town was her home. Were she good enough to become Master Yen Sid's apprentice, she would, but darkness was her true nature. Master Yen Sid would have little use for her.

Sayeh sat down on the start of the pier, kicking around the sand with a bare foot.

The conversation shared between Xion and Riku went on for a while, and from Sayeh's distance it was hard to hear. Why there was a conversation to be had instead of a battle was beyond Sayeh, but maybe it had something to do with Riku's power. Oh well, she had no chance to ask him about it now.

Riku got up, and cradled Xion in his arms. "Sayeh. We're going back to Hollow Bastion."

"Wait," Sayeh put her shoe back on before facing Riku. "What's going on? I thought we were supposed to destroy her."

His brows curved up in worry. She must have said the wrong thing.

"She needs time to figure things out. I told her to think in everyone's best interest, not just herself, but that her existence was preventing Sora from waking."

Xion's face contorted into many expressions, some peaceful, some worrisome. It almost made Sayeh wonder if Nobodies had hearts after all.

"I need you to take her to Hollow Bastion," Riku stated, moving to hand Xion over.

Once again, auxiliary. More care shown to this puppet than her.

"There's a castle there, the one that overshadows the town—"

Sayeh yanked Xion away from Riku and turned her back on him. She snapped, "Yeah, I got it."

"Is something wrong, Sayeh?"

"Not at all," she said. "Catch you later."

_-Hollow Bastion-_

The Corridor of Darkness landed Sayeh and Xion at the postern, which looks like it had already been destroyed by the hundreds of Heartless crawling around. Had Leon and his friends not gotten that under control?

Sayeh thought it an excellent way to channel her feelings at the moment, because even thinking about Riku sent energy in all directions. Some debris blocking the way in cleared from the door and fell over the high railing separating this area from a deadly fall.

Just as she took a step inside the castle, Shadows appeared in all directions.

"I'm not in the mood, but I'll use you for anger management," she growled, and threw some magic their way.

Usually she defaulted to blizzard magic, but upon impact, she noticed that her blizzard magic had been tainted with darkness. The more darkness she held in, the more the Heartless would feel her presence. This was not good for Xion, and Sayeh had to regain control of the darkness that had stirred in her heart before something bad happened.

Xion let out a cry in her sleep and she struggled in Sayeh's arms. Was she dreaming that someone was hurting her? "Hold on, we'll be there soon. I don't understand why Riku couldn't just bring you here himself…but whatever. Apparently, I'm just some sidekick, without any feelings. Ha! I'm like a Nobody!"

Just then, a rash of Heartless sprouted from the shadows. With her sudden onset of anger, she used less control, and threw a line of fire across the large hall. Instantly, the Heartless fell away, and charred outlines marked the ceiling.

"I'm just saying, it's stupid to ignore people's feelings towards you. I mean, if Roxas had a heart and liked you, Xion, would you just ignore him because you have your own problems? Probably not, but I don't know you that well, so I guess that defeats my argument."

Another rash of Heartless appeared, but they were shot down by Sayeh's unrequited feelings.

"I hope you're worth the trouble," Sayeh said when she finally found a quiet room, one with a bed and a desk. She winced when she tossed Xion on the bed like a ragdoll, instantly regretting such a thing. As if to make up for her transgression, she fluffed Xion's pillow and rearranged her body in a comfortable resting position.

When she leaned back against the table to go through some controlled breathing, her hand brushed against a dusty book. Sayeh examined it, brushing off the dust and found no information on the cover as to what the book was about. Opening it, she found chicken scratch, belonging to a boy.

_Sora and his new "friends" succeeded in destroying Jafar's plan. Maleficent keeps encouraging me to use the power of darkness. It's true, raw power. I'll get Kairi's heart back faster than Sora ever will, even with that stupid Keyblade._

Sayeh shut the book, realizing it was written by Riku.

A hand reached out of the darkness to snatch the journal from Sayeh, causing her to squeal.

"You could announce yourself next time, Riku!"

The fire used to burn the book to ashes illuminated the room better than the paltry lamp on the floor. It also shed light on Sayeh's puckered face, as well as all her dings and scratches.

"You're hurt," Riku said, ignoring her whining as he dug in his pocket for a potion. He offered it to her, but she waved it away. "I'm guessing there's a lot of Heartless here."

"You would probably know, Mr. Raw Power. If you were going to show up right after I get her here, why didn't you just bring her here—"

Riku cried out in anguish, clutching his head and falling to a knee.

"Riku, what is it?" Sayeh put a hand on his shoulder but he swept it away.

"It's nothing!" He spat, forcing himself to regain composure. He returned to his feet, albeit wavering, and continued, "We need potions and food. I'm going to the Square."

"Wait, Riku," she whimpered, but he ignored her. Figures.

From the commotion, Xion woke, and was looking at Sayeh. "You should go after him."

"And you'll be here by yourself," Sayeh snapped. "Who knows if you'll try to leave."

Xion's response was a mere turn on the bed as she drew her legs into herself and fell back to sleep.

Sayeh made her way through the residential area from the castle, defeating all sorts of Heartless while dodging the functioning Claymores that also chased her for her nature. Propping herself against a cobblestone wall for support, she pulled back her hood and wiped the sweat from her brow before another Claymore could get her.

Suddenly, she caught sight of Yuffie, returning from Riku's probable direction. Sayeh slammed herself against the wall, hoping the girl did not catch sight of her.

A hand grasped her shoulder and scared her out of her wits. She almost let out a scream, but cupped her mouth to save herself from Yuffie's impending judgement.

A resident she had not yet met took a step back, a nod towards his unwillingness to harm her. His blonde, spiked hair reminded her of Sora, but this guy was much taller, with bluer eyes that always seemed to avoid their target's gaze. Not to mention, Sayeh felt her face warm up just by looking at him.

He did look in the direction Sayeh had earlier, as saw Yuffie's retreating form.

"Why are you avoiding her?" He asked in a soft, monotone voice. "Aren't you that girl from the Courtyard incident?"

She nodded. In the time he asked her that, she had, by second nature, sniffed out the darkness in his own body, and realized it was part of the reason why he did not attack first and ask questions later. Sayeh relaxed a little in his presence.

"Sayeh," she introduced herself. "And you are?"

"Cloud."

"You seem to be in the same boat as me," Sayeh remarked, referring to the darkness.

"I am learning," he started slowly. "To deal with it, I mean."

"Same." Sayeh looked away, crossing her arms. "Doesn't feel easy, though."

And for some reason, Cloud's ability to relate, combined with his calm demeanor, made the dam in Sayeh's heart crack. In seconds, billions of tears welled up in her eyes. Sadness clawed at her throat. She let out a groan before she started bawling outright, holding her face as if it would hide her shame. "Everything is so messed up, all because of this darkness! I don't even know what I'm doing half the time, and I don't think he even likes me—I mean, why would he, I'm a mess! And I doubt Yuffie even wants to see me, because of the way I left—I'm so terrible!"

The embarrassment increased for them both; Cloud was just a stranger, and already seemed incapable of much emotion. She could hardly expect a hug or words of sympathy to come from him, but was surprised when he told her to follow him to the Cave of Fissures, a haven in a place riddled with Heartless. In there, Cloud allowed her to cry some more, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed as she huddled on the ground over herself.

"Geez, this is so embarrassing!" Sayeh said between a mixture of sniffles and wry laughs. "I don't even know you, and here I am using you for therapy! I am so sorry…"

He shook his head. "Someone once told me that you don't have to let go of the darkness. You just need someone to surround you with light. What's your light? That's the place to start. Maybe that kid you were talking about is your light."

Sayeh paused to look at him. He was serious, his eyes now locked into hers. Something in her heart told her that he was right, but it was a hard truth to accept. "But what if…I'm just there to be helpful? What if he only needs me to help him and that's it?"

"That's what friends do. He's your friend, at least, right?"

She nodded.

"Be his friend, first. He'll thank you for it later. He has darkness too? In him? You'll just have to be his light."

"Thanks, Cloud," Sayeh said, finally standing. She wiped away her tears. "What about Yuffie?"

"Just talk to her. She'll understand." Cloud got off the wall and began walking away.

Sayeh stammered, "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Off to find my own light," he answered, and disappeared further into the crystal fissures.

In the residential district and twenty Heartless later, Sayeh stood at Merlin's door. Her hands shook in both the fear and the anticipation of being reunited with the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. She wanted to follow Cloud's advice, and assumed he knew her well enough, but what if she was angry? What if they all wanted her dead and gone?

But they could also be worried.

As she mustered the courage to open the door, she took one deep breath and twisted the doorknob—

A twist and pull from the other side yanked Sayeh indoors, falling on Leon as the door opened. At first, there was a silence that only hummed with the fans of Cid's computers. Then, there was a shrill cry from Yuffie.

"You're back! Ohmygoodness—We were so worried, and, and—Oh! You're alright!"

Sayeh did not have to get up—the force that was Yuffie yanked her to her feet and constricted her in a soul-crushing hug. "Hey—guys—"

"What happened to you out there?" Leon asked. "Some guy snatched you up and—"

"And he disappeared with you!" Yuffie exclaimed. "He swore he wasn't a bad guy, but he wore a black coat like the bad guys!"

"Looks like you have some explainin' to do," Cid said from his computer without turning his head.

After Aerith brought everyone tea, Sayeh went to explaining everything without doing so. It was an untold rule, in her head, that she should not tell everything, and did not think Riku would appreciate it anyway.

"He is my…friend," She said it almost to remind herself, despite her heartache. "He has been helping me and I've been helping him…He came looking for me when I was gone for a long time from home. He was worried because I sustained a concussion."

"_You could've gotten yourself killed, and you just pranced over to another world like it was no big deal!"_

"_Don't you realize how responsible I would've felt if you had died?"_

His words rang through her head.

"I try to take care of him and he tries to take care of me. So…I'm sorry, for all that mess at the Courtyard…" Sayeh trailed off, unsure of a better conclusion.

Leon chewed it over for a few seconds, then replied with, "Well, at least you're in one piece."

"Yeah!" Yuffie replied, "I thought for sure you were a goner! It's nice to see that you're doing okay."

"Well, I'm sort of okay, to be honest. I'm holding on to too much darkness, and so is my friend. We are reaching our limits of what we can tolerate."

"There may be a remedy at the Marketplace," Aerith offered, pouring Cid another cup of tea. "There's a bangle, and it is rumored to have ancient powers to help release the darkness in a person. It may be worth a try."

With everything cleared up with the Restoration Committee, Sayeh headed to the Marketplace. It was nice to feel less weight on her shoulders, though she was exhausted mentally and physically. Master Yen Sid had taught them about her ability to filter darkness in battle, but not in a non-combative way. Hopefully, this bangle would be the answer to her prayers.

Sayeh looked through all the jewelry on display at the Accessories Shop, finding beautiful pieces from nose rings that cured poisonous spells to ear cuffs that promised a second life after death. Because of her teachings back home, she could examine a piece and feel the energy from it. In other words, Sayeh could tell if it was real, or fake and useless.

Finally, she set her sight on a bangle, with a paper placard bearing the words "Power Bangle" and an outrageous price next to it. Sayeh asked to see the bangle, despite the big tag.

"There's nothing like this anywhere, kupo!" The moogle running the shop exclaimed. "It's a rare piece, perfect for the seasoned magician, kupo!"

She could feel the power of light and goodness radiating from its cool surface as she slipped it on her wrist. Instantly, it clamped down as if to never let go. Indeed, it was magical, but could it really remove some of the darkness within her? Regardless, Sayeh paid for it and made her way back to the castle.

On her way back, she began to feel a hop in her step, with just a little bit of lightheadedness to follow. Heartless leaked from the shadows to attack her, but backed away the second they neared her. It was crazy, and she felt like she was losing her mind, but in a good way. Her heart was singing, shoot, even she was humming! Tense joints creaked and cracked, and the tremble in her hands quit.

"It works! Suckers!" She thumbed her nose as a couple of Shadows as they backed away.

As the high increased, a small part of her brain tried to tell her to panic. She could not figure out why this was wrong, but it was loud enough to scream at her. What could be wrong? Everything felt great! Everything felt right…Or was it?

The bangle forced itself from her wrist and rolled into the rocks on the ground. Sayeh stopped to reach for it, and instantly backed when the bangle took on a malevolent force of its own. From it, a shadow version of herself grew into being, and it set its sight on a target.

Her.

"Oh, great."

The bangle created an alternate version of her, a dark version of her.

So that's how it worked.

"Fine, then! Let's do this!" Sayeh said, launching herself at her darker self.

Before she could even make her first move, her darker self already knew, and dodged it. Then, it came in for a close-range Thunder attack, something Sayeh would only do out of desperation. It knocked Sayeh back into some old debris, but she quickly regained control of her environment.

She took control of some rocks around her, swirled it into a massive tornado and sent it Dark Sayeh's way, hoping it would be too big to avoid. Once Dark Sayeh got caught up in the eye of the tornado, Sayeh went to work, throwing Blizzaga and Firaga her way. Eventually the tornado fell flat and Dark Sayeh tumbled to the ground. With a roar, she got back on her feet and charged again.

Sayeh threw as much ice as she could at Dark Sayeh, but she kept coming, knocking it away. Who knew her darkness would be so strong?

Suddenly, Dark Sayeh grabbed more of the rocks around them, causing Sayeh to slip, and sent them not to attack Sayeh, but to hug her and keep her rooted it one spot. From there, Dark Sayeh ran up and went for a barrage of kicks, but Sayeh was quick enough to duck in the boulders hugging her. Instead, Dark Sayeh tore away at the boulders and released her other self.

It also wore Dark Sayeh out, as kicking stones took a lot of strength and probably caused a lot of pain. On the other hand, Dark Sayeh could care less for pain—she hobbled her way over to Sayeh and kept coming at her with flying fists. Sayeh was tired, too. Hell, she started the fight tired, but she kept dodging for as long as she could until she had enough energy to summon a weightless cloud to envelope Dark Sayeh. Imitating her hold on Dark Sayeh with her hands, she forced her hands together as if to crush something and willed the Graviga spell to crush her darker self into nothingness. With a terrifying cry, Dark Sayeh was crushed into nothingness.

Sayeh felt back on her butt, then lied on her back among the rocks. The high had dissipated; nothing was left of the power bangle, and part of her was happy for it to be gone. Had she given it to Riku, who knows what could have happened!

"Yo, Sayeh!" A familiar voice called from afar.

She propped herself up on her elbows and looked back, seeing Riku at the top of the hill.

That night the three of them spent around one candle. Xion slept as Riku and Sayeh found books from the library to read. They had plenty of food—Riku went crazy with groceries—and plenty of potions. For her exhaustion, Sayeh chugged two down, earning a raised brow from Riku.

"Sayeh…" Riku closed his book. "Are you okay? You haven't been yourself."

"Well, I feel better after today," Sayeh answered. "I saw my friends and…let them know I was okay…"

"…I remember them. Sora was their friend, too," Riku said rather broodingly.

"Yeah, but you'll always been Sora's best friend! Even if you don't feel like it." She was trying to be his light, like she talked about with Cloud.

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am! Tell me, who else is out there helping Sora get his memories back? Just you—well, I mean, I'm helping you…or trying to at least."

"And I thank you for that. Really." Riku said, and Sayeh noticed his blindfold was off, just so she could see how serious he was.

There was so much pain in his eyes, she did not understand how he bore it all the time. His eye contact made her flush, though, so looking at him directly made her focus her attention elsewhere. Without reading, Sayeh flipped through the pages. "It's no problem, I mean, I really don't do too much…"

A warm, callused hand grabbed hers and squeezed it tightly. "You help so much more than you think, Sayeh."

A warm, delicious energy shared between their contact rushed through both their bodies. It made her body quake, because it was so good, and yet so…shocking. Astounding. Surprising. Riku had never given her this kind of vibe before. And then, there it was, that aching pain of Riku's heart. His called out to hers, and Sayeh did not know how to handle it.

She pulled away, and hid her hands in her lap. "You're too nice, Riku."

Sayeh gritted her teeth. How stupid could she sound, right now?

"What?"

"I'm auxiliary, I just help." She shrugged, starting to babble. "L-like if you were a hero of a book, I'm just your sidekick."

"Heh," Riku grinned, "I'm no hero…quite the opposite, actually…"

"You know," Sayeh started on another topic, wringing her hands together. "I met someone today. He was like us, with the same problem of managing the darkness within us."

"Is that so?"

"He gave great advice, too," She said with a nod.

"And that was?"

"Um," Her face was too hot to bare. "Nevermind. It was silly. He was just trying to give some feel-good, hang-in-there advice—"

"Oh."

"Yeah." A quick, nervous laugh bubbled from her lips. "I'm sorry, that was such a waste—"

"Ugh!" Riku hissed, holding his head again. "Dammit!"

"What is going on with you? Are you okay?"

"It's the darkness," he groaned. "It's hurting my head."

With the desire to help him, Sayeh scooted closer to him. She grabbed his hand from his forehead, and he looked at her with confusion. "Please, give me permission to…to take the darkness from you."

"Can you handle it? Will you be alright?"

She gave a nod, and he acquiesced. With a deep breath, Riku allowed himself to be freed of some of the darkness. He knew she could not take it all, but even a little would knock the edge off. It would keep Ansem from snickering in the back of his head, not that she needed to know about that.

Sayeh held his hand between both of hers and closed her eyes. She allowed his darkness in, and could feel the words of self-doubt and self-hatred coming through. It was so ugly, his darkness, and the fact that he bore those things made Sayeh feel badly for him. It also made her love him more, because he was strong for carrying those things. He may have thought himself weak and useless, but to carry such a weight meant that, when he was one day free of those things, he was capable of so much more. When Riku was free, he would be a hero. She felt that in her heart.

"Why are you smiling like that?" He said, his voice less strained than before.

"Because," Sayeh answered. "I can hear the pain. I can hear the darkness you carry…it's crazy to hear what another one thinks of oneself, only for an outside person to know they are so much more."

Her eyes were still closed. With her taking his burden, she did not feel him inch closer to her face, cup her cheek with his other hand, and go for it. A hiccup in the transfer could be felt by the both of them, followed by a slowdown in the process and a full-on stop. There was no way to focus on transferring his energy when Riku was kissing her.

She kissed back, squeezing his hand in her lap. He took his other hand from her and grabbed the other side of her face, as if he did not want her to leave. His bangs tickled her face, and his warmth enveloped her in a love finally realized by both. Her heart sung as she inhaled his scent, and took in his closeness to her. Finally, her heart said, finally!

It lasted for what seemed like years, before Riku finally broke the kiss. Embarrassed, he took both his hands and inched away from her. The room was quiet.

Did she do something wrong? Was she not supposed to kiss back?

Riku even put his blindfold back on and fumbled with the book in front of him. "You know…"

There were no words to follow it. He could not think of anything to follow the kiss with.

"I can take more of your energy in, I only took a little—"

"I-it's fine…"

"Are you…embarrassed, Riku? About kissing me?" As soon as she said it, he tensed up. She then realized he had never kissed a girl before. Anything she said might make it worse, so she lied down on her side and curled up into a ball. Finally, she said, "You know, thank you for trusting me. With the transfer, and all that. Goodnight."

Eventually, Riku settled down and fell asleep, as Sayeh replayed the kiss over and over in her head.

* * *

I figured it was time. That is all.


	9. Axel

Chapter 9: Axel

* * *

Things were back to normal after the kiss the very next day. Everything was back to normal—Riku had some leg room with his darkness, and so did Sayeh. In fact, Sayeh handled Riku's transferred darkness well enough. It made her nauseous at first, but she learned to stomach it until she could find a way to expel it. With all the Heartless around, there were plenty of targets at which to aim it, so she got rid of it quickly. When it happened again in the next week, Sayeh took more energy and expelled it. Finally, they were a team that they were intended to be.

Master Yen Sid took note of Sayeh's glow when she returned momentarily to Twilight Town. She had offered to make him tea instead of allowing Merryweather to do so.

When he asked, Sayeh replied, "Riku finally trusts me enough to allow me to rid of his energy."

"That is good news," Master Yen Sid replied in his slow fashion. "Had your world survived, you would have returned a skilled mage. Perhaps you no longer need the spell book I have given you."

Sayeh found the thought comforting—though dark Blessed were only used for intimidation, the fact that Master Yen Sid referred to her abilities as a whole meant the world to her. Perhaps she truly was a good person, and that using the power of darkness was just that. She was simply _using_ it, not becoming it. She never imagined feeling the way she did about life, about Riku, and about herself.

Then, two weeks later came. DiZ had alerted his team to Axel and Roxas' presence. Before, Sayeh would have been chomping at the bit to get out there and destroy Roxas. If it made Riku happy, she would obliterate him three times over, regardless if she actually could. It took Axel's mentioning to knock her out of her romantic spell and get serious.

"I want Axel," Sayeh growled. "He was here before—"

"And you didn't do anything about it?" DiZ and Riku asked in unison, surprising themselves in the process.

Sayeh shrugged and looked away. "No…I had Naminé in tow. Keeping her away from Axel was more important than beating him up."

It was a good reason, good enough to make Riku relax. "It's alright."

It still angered DiZ though. He admonished her, "Next time, leave Naminé in the mansion where she belongs. It is not permitted to take her anywhere. I have set these rules for a reason."

Turning back to the screen, Riku pondered the plan of attack. "It would be difficult to fight them both. Roxas is Sora's Nobody, and Axel is attached to Roxas."

"To fight Roxas would anger Axel," Sayeh added.

"Sayeh," Riku instructed, "Go get Xion from Hollow Bastion. I have a plan."

While Sayeh returned to Hollow Bastion, Riku was going to stir things up with Roxas and Axel. The Organization had Riku in their sights for a long time, but now that Xion had been taken, they wanted Riku gone.

And now that Xion had rested, she was fit for battle. Sayeh took most of the hits, not wanting to damage their hostage, for lack of a better term, and not to cause additional delays to Sora's recovery. Sayeh did not think Xion would be as fast as she was, but she was a quick, strong little thing. Still, she put herself into harm's way before Xion, before she was able to get them to a good place for a Corridor of Darkness.

They met up with Riku outside the crack in the wall leading to the forest. Once Sayeh donned her black coat, they all through up their hoods.

Riku said, "Xion. Your friends are here. They're going to want you back…it's up to you whether you want to go back. But consider all sides here. Think about who you affect."

Sayeh mumbled under her breath, "No pressure." She patted Xion on the shoulder.

"They're close. Let's do this." The group reappeared outside the Usual Spot, where Roxas had lied on the ground, dazed, and Axel stood over him protectively.

"Xion!" Roxas exclaimed, though Xion did not budge.

In Xion's situation, Sayeh figured it was hard to do what she had to do. She could save someone she never met, or she could remain with her friends in the Organization XIII. With such a decision, it was no surprise that Xion summoned her own Corridor and took off elsewhere.

Roxas immediately scrambled after her, calling for her, but Riku got in the way. Sayeh could feel the tension and remorse bubbling in Riku's aura, but he was trying to do what was best for his friend, too. In a way, Sayeh assumed Riku pitied Roxas, despite the fact that he had to be reunited with Sora.

"Out of the way!" Roxas shouted at Riku, who stared him down for a few seconds before taking off for the Underground Passageway.

"Roxas, wait!" Axel called after him, and made to move, but Sayeh quickly threw herself in the way.

"You and I," Sayeh smirked, "We have a dinner date."

"And it looks like you're about to get roasted," Axel shot back, releasing flames all around them.

Sayeh glided away from him before casting Magnet to drag him through his own fire. As it did, he threw both chakrams at her, breaking her concentration so she could deflect. Then, he swiftly gained proximity and nailed her in the stomach, knocking her on her back to sputter and catch her breath.

"What's the problem?" He leered at her. "Guess you still can't hang with the big boys."

"Not a chance!" She forced out, and enchanted the fire behind Axel to follow him wherever he went. He dodged it the first time, but quickly realized it would follow him relentlessly until it finally devoured him. Though opposite to his nature, it was necessary for him to dust off a blizzard spell and use it to extinguish the flames.

As Sayeh stumbled back to her feet, she held her stomach. Axel had been stowing the punch for her ever since they met a few months back. He approached the Underground Passageway to tail Roxas and Riku, but Sayeh called out to him.

"Hey! We're not finished here!" She cast a shield to protect the underground entrance.

Axel cared little for it, and used a Corridor to move around it. "Guess again!"

With a grunt, Sayeh bolted after Axel. If he reached her friend, Riku would have a hard time fending them both off.

And it was true. Roxas was quick on Riku's tail, forcing him to teleport like she had never seen him do before. Their presence in the passage disturbed all sorts of Heartless, but they cared less for Riku than they did for Roxas, for Roxas held the Keyblade. The Keyblade was more important than someone tightrope-walking the edge of dark and light.

As Sayeh ran in, she was knocked over by Riku, though he quickly returned her to her feet, and summoned a shield strong enough to protect them both. Riku did not have time to be annoyed, let alone to break a sweat, and instead teleported off to another area.

Axel and Roxas tried to corner Riku where he landed, but Sayeh stole Axel's attention. She teleported herself between them, and pushed Axel into a Corridor that lead to another part of the passage.

"Out of my way!" Axel roared, aiming again for her stomach, but she would not fall for that again. As he swung his chakram to meet her abdomen, she sprung backwards, and kicked the chakram as hard as she could. The chakram bit into the ceiling, and beckoned its owner to retrieve him. The expression on his face mixed surprise and awe just before Sayeh forced the other one from his hand with magic. Now there they stood, face to face with no weapons.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Y'know, that's not all that bad."

"So now you can't mock me about not wanting to fight," Sayeh said, "Because I can disarm you! Which means I have a chance at beating you!"

"While this is true," Axel curled his fingers and tilted his head back as he summoned his chakrams to his aid once more, he continued. "You didn't think of the odds that together, Roxas and I might beat your little boyfriend!"

Sayeh blushed with both irritation and embarrassment. "He's not my boyfriend!"

Axel hoisted one of his chakrams on his shoulder. "Oh really? That's not how it looks to us. And you better watch out—you may just be his little helper, but don't think the Organization won't use you to get to him."

"Why get to him?"

"He's ruining our operation, duh," Axel sniffed. "He's a nuisance! Got it memorized?"

"No he's not! You're the nuisance!"

"Oh? Watch this! Hey!"

Riku looked in Axel's direction just in time to see Axel pull Sayeh close and lay one on her lips with the intent to get a rise out of him. Sayeh pushed away, but Axel held on tightly. When he let go, he uses flames to bat her away.

Sayeh did her best to leap out of the way, wiping her mouth free of Axel germs. "Yuck!"

"Hey!" Axel joked. "I'd like to think I'm a great kisser—"

Riku was only meant to annoy them, not engage with them. He followed those orders carefully, until that kiss, of course. He slammed into Axel with his whole body, the force knocking him into a wall. From there, Riku rained hell upon him, and it took Roxas to get him off.

Roxas knocked Riku into another room of the passageway, though Riku never actually fell. Instead, he teleported again as he caught sight of Xion. All Xion had to do was walk on through, her presence causing a ceasefire of sorts. Roxas and Axel took the bait, following after her until she made her way into a portal and disappearing.

They did not have to know that she was not going far; in fact, Riku, Sayeh, and Xion regrouped around a corner, so they could listen in.

When Roxas and Axel left, Riku asked Xion. "You want to go back?"

She gave no answer.

That night, Riku hardly spoke to Sayeh. She wondered if it had to do with Axel kissing her, or if he was pensive because they were getting down to the wire. When she tested the water by asking if he ate, he gave a mumble and continued reading through a book he had found in the library leading to DiZ's lab.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Sayeh eventually asked him, to which he gave a curt reply.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Quite the opposite, she knew. He held a lot of darkness. Riku had not asked her for a transfer lately, and using Xion took a lot of energy to plan effectively. Sometimes, he consulted DiZ, other times they would get into a small verbal argument before Riku skulked off.

Xion stayed with Sayeh in her room. The Mansion gang could not afford for her to leave off, and Sayeh often went to bed late. As Xion slept facing Sayeh's side, Sayeh would often break from reading her spellbook to glance at Xion.

She wondered what Riku saw when he looked at her. Naminé had told her that Xion was an entity made from memories. As such, she would look different based on what relationship she had with that person. For Sayeh, Xion had short red hair and blue eyes. She looked like she could be Naminé's twin. To Naminé, though, she was a girl with black hair instead.

After three hours of sleep, Sayeh awoke to Xion's shifting and figured it was morning.

Riku briefed them downstairs about what was to happen. "Xion, you will meet Roxas on Market Street. We will be ready in case something happens."

Xion left ahead of them. Sayeh pulled Riku aside. "Are you sure this plan of yours is going to work? I mean, letting her meet with him like that…It might cause her to go back with them."

"Last night," Riku replied, "I went to the World That Never Was. I overheard the orders."

"So you're a super spy." Sayeh said with a shrug.

Riku snapped. "I'm doing what I can to save my friend! Now are you coming, or not?"

"Why are you being so mean again?" She stopped walking, and hoped he would, too.

"Just, come on! We have to do this."

Instead of paying attention to the words exchanged, Sayeh sulked, cross-legged on the rooftop on which Riku perched. He was all ears, though trying to remain incognito. Roxas begged Xion to go home, but she resisted, as Riku had hoped. What really caught Sayeh's attention was Xion backing away from Roxas—every step he took towards her was one taken away from him. The plan was working, and Xion had decided she would no longer be selfish.

Roxas insisted that Xion would be okay to return to the Organization without penalty, and reached for her one more time. He only stopped at the familiar sound and sight of a Keyblade, only this time, he was not holding it, but at the end of it.

"This is really sad," Sayeh mumbled to herself, earning a "shh!" from Riku. She sent him a scowl behind his back and continued watching on.

Out of nowhere flew a chakram, which Xion easily deflected with the hilt of her weapon. Axel came from around a corner, with that stupid smirk on his face.

Ever since his little kiss from yesterday, Sayeh had wanted nothing more than to get him alone and…and…

She thought of his soft lips again, and how gingerly he planted them on hers. It was different than Riku's innocent and hasty kiss. There was skill in Axel's.

But she wanted him alone to beat his face in! He could kiss her fist next, Sayeh decided as she gripped the roof's edge with white knuckles. Axel could kiss her fist. Nothing else.

Axel and Xion danced around each other, landing hits that only glanced off their opponent's weapon. Roxas fought to find the words to make them stop, his friends, the ones who shared ice cream with him before returning home. Yet, here they were, going at each other. Xion would lunge at Axel, going straight for his gut; Axel would dodge out of the way and swipe at her with a chakram. Fire was slung in exchange for Strike Raids, and neither would give in to the other.

Just as Xion regained her balance and charged at Axel, Roxas yelled, "Stop!"

Hearing her friend's desperate plea, Xion did pause in her onslaught. She met Roxas' gaze.

Suddenly, a chop to the back of her neck sent her limp into Axel's arms. He had not listened to Roxas, nor did he care to. Xion's Keyblade clattered to the ground before disappearing in a shimmer of light.

"Xion!" Roxas called, and locked eyes with Axel one last time before he took off in a portal of darkness.

Once Roxas was out of the vicinity, Sayeh threw her hands up and groaned. "He took Xion! This wasn't part of the plan, Riku!"

"I know…" Riku replied. "Dammit…"

"Should we search for them?"

Riku shook his head. "There's no point. He took her back to their base. To get her out would mean opening ourselves to engagement. They won't let her leave without a fight."

"So what are we supposed to do for the rest of the day?"

Riku shrugged. "Maybe you could go find someone else to kiss."

Sayeh threw her hands up again. "And there it is!"

"I don't understand how you just allow someone kiss you." He continued in a calm, almost indifferent voice. If he was playing with her, she was not sure. "Especially the enemy."

Riku leapt from the roof to the ground level, trailed by Sayeh. She crossed her arms as she walked. "I don't know, you kissed me the other night, what was my reaction? I don't remember pulling away like I tried with Axel."

Just like she wanted, a faint redness spread across Riku's face. If he was going to bring it up, she would remind him that he initiated it. Even his walk gained an edge of stiffness, like the comment had taken the flexibility out of his back. Sayeh could do nothing but cackle.

"It's fun messing with you, you know, when you're not being mean."

Riku stopped walking completely. His gloves squeaked with the clenching of his fists. "I have to do this. For Sora. One slip up, and he might be gone forever."

She sighed. "I know…it's a lot. I'm sorry, I just…"

Even though they had felt comfortable enough kissing one another, they found not comfort in serious conversations. As much as Sayeh wanted to tell him she cared for him, and was concerned, it would not come out. Riku could not handle an admission like that out loud, whether he acknowledged that she liked him or not.

"Maybe we should grab some food," She offered after clearing her throat. "It would be nice to actually eat before the day is over."

"I'll leave you to that…I'm gonna return to the Mansion."

A few days later, Naminé and Sayeh stood at Sora's pod. Though Naminé was simply checking on Sora, Sayeh always had questions for him. Sometimes she pretended to ask him the questions, and, based on her peers' description of Sora, try to figure out the answer. Boredom had struck her since Xion's disappearance, and lately, it was a source of great entertainment to guess the sleeping boy's answers.

DiZ finally took a break from his programming long enough to observe Sora with the girls. Not long after he arrived, however, did Naminé have bad news.

"Oh no." She said, frowning.

"What has happened?" DiZ asked, authentically concerned.

Naminé fumbled with the collar of her dress, as she always did when she was stressed. "Sora's memory…I'm afraid has stopped."

"What does that mean?"

Sayeh mumbled under her breath, "Something really bad…"

"Unless something is done, he'll never wake from his slumber."

As if falling from great heights, Sayeh's stomach churned with anxiety. It meant they had even less time than they thought, and what was worse, they had no Xion. The Organization managed to take hold of her and keep her for good this time. Her mind raced with all the possible things they could do from this point to salvage the situation, but some of the options were not feasible. As Riku said, breaking into their stronghold to kidnap Xion was a terrible idea—after Riku and Sora's adventures in Castle Oblivion, Sayeh could only guess the Organization's strongest remained. She was getting better at combat, but fighting an elite member would take her all, and more.

Finally, DiZ said. "The gloves must come off then."

DiZ insisted Riku be gentle with Xion despite his disregard for Nobodies in general. If Xion was to be coerced, she would resist. Therefore, treating Xion like a friend would and did work in their favor. Sayeh had heard DiZ tell Riku several times that things were not moving fast enough. Now was the time that they had to play the hard game.

When Naminé tried to insist against it, DiZ sneered. "Nobodies never should have existed—"

He gazed at her from the tip of his noise, as if to hammer his point in.

"—As I'm sure you know, Naminé."

Naminé could do nothing but look away, ashamed of what she was. DiZ never let it go, and never would. As much as Sayeh wanted to say something in DiZ's defense, he was right. They were not supposed to exist. Still, Naminé was her friend. She gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before leaving her with Sora.

"Where are you going?" Riku asked as Sayeh passed him.

She stretched her arms overhead and yawned. "This place stresses me out. I'm going into town."

"Don't kiss strangers."

"Shut up!"

Sayeh found her way to the trolley, and was surprised to see Olette and the gang aboard. She was thankful she remembered to leave the black coat at home, instead opting for her daily clothes with her hair pulled back into a low bun. Some of her bangs were started to curl over her face, and Sayeh could do nothing but push them out of her face.

"Hey, you guys! Long time no see!"

"Sayeh, good to see you!" Hayner replied, "You've missed some of my best work in the tourneys."

Olette received Sayeh warmly, despite their history. "Yeah, it's no fun being without some other girlfriends!"

"True story," Pence added, referring more to the girlfriend part.

"Yeah, well…I'm always busy…" Sayeh trailed off. She asked Hayner, "How'd you place?"

"Second, but only because that stupid Seifer cheats all the time." Hayner clucked his tongue. "Man, maybe if I had money I would bribe officials just so I could get my hands on—"

"Whoa, man, slow down! You'll give yourself a hernia! Well, where are you going?"

Sayeh shrugged. "At this point, I don't care. I just need to clear my head and think about other things."

"What's on your mind?" Olette edged closer in her seat. "Some stuff like last time?"

It was easy to understand that Olette meant fighting Heartless. Nevertheless, Sayeh had to shoot down that crazy look in Olette's eye, and offer something mundane. "My homeschooling tutor is teaching me about computers, and it's a lot to deal with. I'm just not skilled like that…"

Were she ever as skilled as DiZ, he might actually be the one breathing fresh air, instead of that old moldy atmosphere in the Mansion. But alas, the old man might croak from asbestos exposure before ever seeing Twilight Town.

"Pence over here is a wiz at computers…" Hayner had started, but Sayeh did not listen. Her attention was instead focused on the sauntering redhead, lightly burdened with a plastic bag full of ice cream. He ambled up the hill towards Market Street, probably on his way to meet his friends at the Clock Tower.

No sooner did she grumble to herself about Roxas did he notice her from afar—after all, he had been in the game way longer than her. And if she could feel his energy, there was no doubt that he could feel hers.

"What are you staring at?" Pence shifted out of his seat, balancing on a knee to look over Sayeh's head out the tram. "Who's that?"

"A, um, friend." Sayeh frowned as she said the word friend. What an inaccurate word for Axel. An insult, even.

"Like a friend, friend? Or a _friend_ friend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sayeh snapped, her face going red. The kiss came back to her all over again…the way his hands felt holding her up against him, the proximity of his warmth despite the lack of a heart… "Not my—"

Within seconds, Axel had leapt on the tram and plopped down next to Sayeh. An arm rest across her shoulders, and a small peck on the cheek did nothing to rouse Sayeh from her shock. "Hey there!"

"So he _is_ your boyfriend!" Olette clasped her hands together in excitement. The boys suddenly appeared very glum, with frowns and sinking shoulders.

"Why, of course!" Axel said, leaning back in his seat. He waved his drying popsicle stick around like a wand. "She's just shy about it, being a new thing and all."

"I really hate you right now." Sayeh growled, only for Axel to hear. If this was not a tram full of people, I—"

To add insult to injury, Axel tossed his popsicle stick out the window and flicked her nose. "Don't be silly, sweetheart! You'd never do such a thing! A joker, this one, huh?"

And the tram kept coasting along, carrying an angry little Sayeh, and a more-than-pleased Axel.

Sayeh got off at the next available stop, the train station to be exact, and behind her followed Axel, saluting the Hayner's gang before he left. Since his popsicles were on the verge of melting and he had no originally planned on messing with Sayeh, he had given the remaining two to Hayner and Pence—Olette was fine with not having any.

The "happy couple" waved until the tram was out view, and finally, Sayeh smacked Axel with a wave of ice. "Are you crazy?! Sweetheart?!"

Instead of being mad, Axel could only laugh. "Sorry, but it's the most fun I've had in days. You'll have to forgive me."

"Hmph," Sayeh crossed her arms. "You don't consider destroying the impostor fun? I'm standing right here."

"I know you're not the Impostor. It's Sora's friend, I bet. You're just tagging along with your actual boyfriend."

Axel flinched, cackling, as Sayeh raised her hand threateningly, another blast of ice at the ready. "_Not_ my boyfriend! One more time and I'll obliterate you!"

"Please," Axel rolled his eyes. "You and your magic tricks couldn't touch me."

"Yeah?" Sayeh backed up, and her body lowered into itself, as if she was ready to dodge any attack he might send her way. Axel reciprocated her glare, but hardly honored her with any motion to engage in a fight. Instead, he looked away. Something was hurting him.

She was hurting him. She and Riku were taking his friends away.

And now she felt like she owed him something for it. Somewhere between her hate for him and his affiliation with Organization XIII, and her desire to have that easygoing relationship with him like in the tram, there was regret that she helped Riku. Here was someone who claimed to enjoy messing with her. Riku was too engrossed in his personal demons and his duty to Sora.

A tear tried to sneak its way out of her eye, but she quickly rubbed it away. Sayeh would not cry in front of another stranger again. "Look…I'm sorry."

"I know…" Axel answered softly. "The things we do for the people we care about."

"I would like to think what I'm doing is right, even though it hurts you," Sayeh said slowly, and quite honestly. "You may not have a heart, but I'm sure you remember."

"I do." Axel sat down on the station steps, and Sayeh sat down next to him. "And I know your friend is feeling the strain of it. His darkness is very strong."

Sayeh nodded. "There's only so much I can help with, when it comes to him…"

"You know, even if you ask me to, I can't back off. Not only is it my job, but those are my friends. If I have to get rid of you right here, I will."

"You would have done it by now. Just like I would've…"

Pain lingered in their auras. It mingled and thrived on the company shared. The unbearable miasma blanketed them, and their burdens once again seemed so heavy. Sayeh could do nothing for Roxas to help Axel, and vice versa. It soon occurred to her that, unlike Xigbar, Axel may actually be someone she could consider good. After all, Xigbar was after her just to destroy her. Whenever he found her, he held no punches. Here Axel was, playing with her like a friend, sharing what he would of his sadness with her.

With no forethought, Sayeh grabbed one of Axel's large hands and laced what she could of her fingers through his. The act alone startled Axel into stiffness. A small pull of resistance came from him but Sayeh would not have it. "I will try my hardest to make this easier on Roxas, if you make it easier on Riku."

"Riku? So that's the Impostor's name…" Axel mumbled to himself.

"Focus," she snapped. "Consider this a sort of…pact."

"But why?" Axel was finally able to pull his hand from Sayeh's grasp, and returned it back to his lap. "You do remember I'm part of the Organization XIII, right? One call, and Xigbar will be here to destroy you—you know he has it out for you—"

"But you don't. We both want the same thing for our friends, but if Riku turns to the darkness, and if Roxas is returned to Sora…"

"What are you trying to say?" Axel came to stand.

Sayeh shrugged. "I don't know. I just think we should be friends, or allies."

"Don't be an idiot. We are on opposing sides for a reason."

"Look—all I'm trying to say is—"

"I don't want to hear anymore," He opened a Corridor of Darkness with his hand, and started towards it.

"If Roxas is captured by Riku, wouldn't you want him to not suffer?"

That stopped Axel in his tracks. His eyes dragged along the cobblestone to finally meet Sayeh's plaintive gaze.

Sayeh continued. "A pact. Don't make Riku suffer, and Roxas will not. I will promise it. We both care about our friends, remember? I'll make sure that Roxas is treated as fairly as possible."

Axel stared at her for a very long time, contemplating. Such a deal was strange, but made sense, given the circumstances. They were both caretakers, and understood each other well.

"Please, consider. Take your time, if you have to, but please know that our time is running out over here. We will act soon." She wanted him to take her serious, but found it hard to feel strongly about her proposition when she was fumbling with her tunic.

Finally, Axel turned back to the Corridor, and as he walked through, he said, "We'll see."

* * *

Bruh. I figured we could use a little fluff. Shiz is getting tense!


	10. Final Days

Chapter 10: Final Days

* * *

Day 352

It was not anything new, but Sayeh could not sleep. Occasionally, Twilight Town's rose-gold atmosphere would trouble her. It was a warm color edging closer to red, with the sun just over the horizon, implicating the end of day but never quite reaching it with exhausting suspense. Riku had spent all of his time preparing to defeat Roxas, now that they had Xion.

A couple of weeks ago, Sayeh had met with Axel, and part of her felt like she should not have. It was the old Sayeh that felt Axel should not have to lose his friend, but the new one who was eager to please, even if it meant destroying one person so another may rise…that part of her felt somewhat stronger. Still, her anxieties had the best of her, and that meant many things.

For one, it meant that she could not be around Riku, for fear of being honest and spilling the beans. Two, it meant that when her thoughts ensnared her mind, her energy would destroy things around her. Because of this, she hid herself back at Master Yen Sid's, deciding it was better to be there than about Twilight Town or helping Riku. Of course, when she made to leave, Riku had said nothing, for once, and made it easier.

"You are doing well," Master Yen Sid finally said after sometime. He had been watching her in the wardrobe room. She stood in front of a podium that held her spellbook, open at a few pages before the back cover. A small murmur came from Sayeh as she breathed the words as she memorized them.

When Sayeh lifted a hand into the air in front of her, she repeated the spell, and drew the words in the air. They dissipated with seconds, but reminded her of the smoking caterpillar from Wonderland. Trying it again, but with Wonderland on her mind, the words could barely sustain themselves in the air, and some disappeared immediately.

"Something is on your mind, it seems."

"I feel like I was trying to help everyone at once, but I feel guilty for it."

"Being in battle is a constant reminder that we cannot save everyone, not even the ones we love dearly. Riku will persevere, though. I am sure of it."

Sayeh paused, a flush blooming on her cheeks. Was it that evident? "I-it's not about Riku. Well, sort of. But not exactly."

"Hm?"

"If I help Riku, Sora will absorb Roxas," Sayeh stated. "But, that means Axel loses his friend…Axel is part of the Organization XIII. I spent a day with him, though not on purpose. He was not a bad person."

"He has no heart, and perhaps that means he cannot be good or bad," Yen Sid began slowly. "On the other hand, the Organization XIII as a whole is an incredibly dangerous group. You should take measure to avoid Axel from now on."

It shocked Sayeh that, despite his alliance with goodness, he would be so light with her on her confession. It also made sense; Master Yen Sid was old and wise, and must view other perspectives to understand what is right for all.

* * *

Day 353

As soon as Sayeh returned to the mansion, she visited Naminé in the pod room, where she remained for the past couple of weeks. She looked more tired and worried than ever before, even if she was a witch with no heart. Sayeh put a hand on Naminé's shoulder and stared at Sora.

Sora.

_I hope you appreciate all this_, Sayeh thought to herself. _This is all for you._

"We've reached a standstill," DiZ stated matter-of-factly, entering not long after Sayeh. "This has dragged on long enough. Riku, Sayeh. You know what must be done."

"Let's go, then. See if Xion made a decision."

Sayeh swallowed hard. She hoped that if they encountered Axel, that he would not tell on her. Maybe he would, and it would be her fault.

"Hey, Sayeh! Are you coming, or what?" Riku stood with his hand extended into a portal. Sayeh nodded and followed after.

"So…what are we going to do?"

"Find Xion…I feel like I have an idea where she would be." Riku replied, looking over his shoulder at her. "What's been up with you lately? You've been…gone."

"I've been finishing my first round of spells. The whole book, it's finished."

"That's good," Riku mumbled. "I think you've come a long way."

Pushing back her bangs, she replied. "Thank you."

"I guess now is a good time as any…" Riku stammered. "That, um…you shouldn't be kissing strangers."

In the dark, she still rolled her eyes. "Gee, I know already. We talked about that. And I didn't even want that kiss, so there."

"W-well…nevermind."

Oh no…the awkward situation triggered some sort of anxiety in her. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again. The words burned her throat and made her stomach lurch. She wanted to tell him, to be honest. She had to be honest. She must be honest. Instead of something coming out about Axel, though, it came out about Riku.

"You know, I really like you. I don't think I would have done any of this if it weren't for you."

Riku stopped walking. The portal itself probably paused in its work. He turned back to her with an open mouth.

As much as she wanted to stop talking, more of it came out. "It's like I was made for you…as stupid as that sounds. I can help get rid of your darkness and all that. I had nothing after my world perished and now…Now I know how you feel about Sora."

In her words was an implication that Riku had love for Sora. Already embarrassed, the words took her to another level, and she began to run over Riku with her words.

"_Not_ that you have romantic feelings for Sora! I mean, if you do, that's your business and I'd be okay with it—but you don't, do you? I mean, whatever's fine I guess, I just wanted to let you know that I really care about you, just like you care for Sora, whether's it's romantic or friendly, it's up to you—"

While Sayeh trampled all over her confession, Riku was trying not to laugh, in case it would insult her. It was hilarious and surprising, actually, to watch her confess like that. It could have been the moment, because they were tidying the loose ends so Sora could finally wake up. Perhaps she thinks that it's the end for them, and once Sora woke up, there would be no need for Sayeh. But there was. She had no idea what he had planned.

"Sayeh, slow down!" He gave half a chuckle. "Let's just focus on the task at hand. We have to find Xion."

They continued walking.

"Well…?" Sayeh squeaked, wringing her hands. The heat of self-consciousness made her coat feel tight, and her sudden onset of sweat made the fabric stick.

"Well what?" Riku asked, his previous mood back as if none of the last minute had occurred.

"…Do you like me back? If you still like Kairi, it's okay. Or Sora," She added his friend's name for comedic effect, to make him laugh, but also to protect herself. If she joked about this, if it was all a joke, perhaps the rejection would not hurt as bad.

"If there's one thing about you that I do not like, it's your sense of timing." Riku answered. "We're here."

First, Riku stepped through, and then did Sayeh. She huffed, not understanding how that answered her question.

Not far from them on a bridge leading to Beast's courtyard stood Xion. Riku approached her with Sayeh in tow.

Sayeh asked, "Did you decide what you wanted to do?"

Xion nodded. "Yes…I am on the verge of losing everything I care about. So please…Please Riku, tell me what I should do now."

"Go to Twilight Town. You'll find a girl there named Naminé."

"Naminé? What's she like?"

"You'll find out. I don't think you'll have trouble finding her."

That was because Naminé was meant to wait for her until she arrived. Once she did, Naminé would know. She would find Xion and convince her what's the right path.

It was not the way DiZ wanted it done, Sayeh knew. She believed Riku and Naminé came up with this plan on their own, as DiZ wanted things dealt with swiftly. In Riku's own way, he was trying to be diplomatic, and Sayeh applauded him for it. He himself had calmed a lot since they first met, even though he now carried twice the amount of darkness within him. She told herself she would have to take care of it when they returned home. And forget all about this "liking" business. He would have told her by now, she figured.

In the Mansion, Riku recounted their meeting with Xion to Naminé, but told DiZ that they had not found Roxas. As bad as it sounded, Sayeh felt less guilty about being dishonest with Riku when they were all dishonest with DiZ. On his way to his room, Sayeh stopped Riku, insisting that she take some of that dark energy from him.

"I think I'll pass this time. I may need it all for Roxas."

His answer, however honest, disappointed Sayeh, but she let it go.

* * *

Day 356

In two days time, Xion found Naminé in the White Room. Riku discouraged Sayeh from entering the room, to allow Naminé to work her magic, so Sayeh went outside and practiced her magic. That was, until she felt DiZ emerge in the White Room from a Corridor of Darkness.

As Sayeh bolted for the Mansion, she felt a familiar presence behind her.

"Axel!" She called in surprise.

"Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?" He grumbled to himself. Like last time, he held a sad disposition that made it difficult for Sayeh to arm herself. Still, she had to buy everyone time.

"Axel, please don't do this. Remember our pact?"

"What pact?" Xion asked, approaching Sayeh and Axel. "Axel…"

"Xion…what are you gonna do?"

Xion bowed her head. "I've decided that I have to go back to where I belong…"

"Well, to be honest, I always felt that was best, right from the very beginning." Axel said in a low tone. But suddenly he spoke up, his tone inquisitive. "But you know, it still really bugs me. Something about this just stinks."

With a lift of her chin, Xion reminded him. "It's for the good of everyone."

Axel snapped. "But how do you know that? Everybody thinks they're right…"

He shot a glare at Sayeh, who tried her best not to step away from it.

"This is right," Xion insisted.

"They're gonna destroy you!" Axel shouted, flooding the area with his emotional energy.

The girls tensed and readied their weapons, Xion's Keyblade and Sayeh's magic. As much as the truth hurt, Xion was still prepared to go the distance. She knew Axel would fight her on it, both verbally, and physically.

So she said, "Please don't hold back, Axel. Promise."

Her words injured him more than any strike of the Keyblade could. He panted with frustration before howling, "What's your problem?! You both…you think you can do whatever you want. Well, I'm sick of it. Go on, you just keep running!"

Fire swirled around Axel's lifted hand.

"But I'll always be there to bring you back!"

"Axel, wait—" Sayeh started, hoping to catch him before they engaged in battle. But it was no use. His first step to engaging was to build a bubble around the two of them, so they could fight without her. "Dammit!"

Sayeh tried using some of the advanced spells at the end of the first book to disable the shield, but none of them work. In her frustration, she threw dark magic at the bubble, but it only grew bigger, absorbing her anger.

"Dammit…"

Within minutes, Axel had dissipated the bubble, and holding Xion in his arms, he disappeared before Sayeh could get a word in.

"Ugh!" Sayeh made a last-ditch effort by slinging to magic at him to slow him down, but it passed through the air and hit the tree behind him.

"What happened?!" Riku asked, finally arriving outside. Were he there sooner, maybe he could have helped.

Sayeh waved to where Axel was. She screeched. "They got away!"

"DiZ knows about our plan. He's mad."

"Let him be mad, then!" Sayeh threw her hands up in the air.

* * *

Day 357

A large disturbance caused by Xion exploded in the northern part of Twilight Town, but DiZ allowed no one to take part. Instead, he needed them to test the world that Roxas was to be put in.

"A digitized world. You want us to worry about a virtual reality, when Xion is up there exploding things?" Sayeh snapped. "She might destroy Roxas!"

"She won't," Riku assured them all. "She knows what she has to do."

"Faith in a puppet…tsk tsk." DiZ said more to himself than to any of them. "Riku, Sayeh. Get in."

The direction referred to two long tubes capable of fitting a human in each. Sayeh remembered it from when she was first brought here, only these had been modified to digitize a person, instead. Sayeh stepped onto the grated floor, looking up at an inactive laser that glowed at dull red. She took one last look at Riku before DiZ announced the start of digitization.

The heat of the laser was negligible at best, still Sayeh was uncomfortable. What if DiZ was punishing them and trapping them in the program for trusting Xion? That would be terrible. Sayeh knew little about computers or programs, so escaping sounded impossible. She supposed one could not escape via a Dark Corridor.

With a blink, she was on the tram, riding around with Riku at her side. They both looked around, then at each other, noticing they were both in civilian clothing.

Hayner and the gang boarded when the tram paused near Market Street, waving to Riku and Sayeh as if they were old friends.

Pence plopped down in a seat before them, but turned around to talk to Riku. "Yo, did you understand that math homework? I swear we will never need to know the circumference of a circle for the rest of our lives."

"Yeah," Hayner scoffed. "I wish they'd teach us something like how to pay taxes. That's more useful."

"Well, let's just focus on passing, okay?" Olette said, offering Sayeh a warm smile. "By the way, did you want to come over for a girl's movie night? Fuu picked the movie…"

Olette's smile turned sour.

"It's a horror movie. You know I can't watch horror movies alone with Fuu!"

The gang stared at Riku and Sayeh as if they were naked. Why were they not responding? Riku and Sayeh glanced at each other, and suddenly blubbered responses once they had reminded themselves that this was meant to be an alternate reality.

"Oh yeah, that math homework," Riku mumbled.

"What, you didn't do it? Hey, sports will only take you so far, man!"

Sayeh stammered. "Yes! I'll weather the storm with you! Why did you let Fuu pick for movie night?"

"Because you picked last time! You picked that dramatic movie and had all of us crying! We had to pick something different."

"But horror?" Sayeh shivered. "I don't do horror."

How normal this all felt.

The gang got off near their hideout. Riku and Sayeh followed them, trying to act natural, after all.

"So, DiZ set this all up? Stories and all?" Sayeh whispered to Riku.

"He does read a lot of fiction, if you pay attention."

They realized how hilarious it must have been for DiZ to write, essentially, fanfiction by which Roxas had to live his life before being absorbed by Sora. To imagine how such a serious, reclusive person obtained all this information to create a seamless world, well, it was beyond Sayeh.

"As long as he did not take any aggressive liberties, I guess," Sayeh mumbled under her breath, following the rest into the hideout. Though, what could possibly happen? It was meant to be real, not something crazy like—

"I knew it!" Seifer jumped out from behind a red curtain cloaking the fence. "You _are_ hanging out with these dweebs!"

"…Beg your pardon?" Riku asked, an eyebrow raised. Sayeh assumed it was the first time anyone ever called Riku that.

"Seifer!" Sayeh shouted in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Fuu told me," Seifer cracked his knuckles. "I knew you were losing your cool factor, and this explains why! You're hanging out with a bunch of losers!"

Offended, Riku snapped. "I'm not a loser. Maybe these guys, but not me."

"A little muscle doesn't mean you can beat me, _loser_," Seifer sniffed as he gave Riku a once-over. "You gotta be in the gym like me before you think you can beat me."

"Yeah," Hayner cut in, rolling his eyes, "But Riku can beat you fair and square in a struggle match, or did you forget the last tournament?"

"Now who's the dweeb?" Pence piped up.

Both the girls stood there, jaws dropped, but for different reasons.

"Whatever," Seifer tossed his hands in the air. "We're through, Sai."

Olette gasped as Seifer drew back the red curtain and left the gang alone. "Oh no…he seemed really hurt…"

She guessed, in the circumstances, she was supposed to be upset. But she knew it was all lie. A bubbling laughter erupted from her lips, and she held her stomach as she nearly pitched forward from the hilarity. "Oh my gosh! He—and, and I—what a terrible match!"

"What do you mean? You guys were going steady for like, months!" Pence replied with a shred of disbelief in his tone. "How does that not bother you?"

"Um…I've actually liked another person for some time now," Sayeh replied honestly.

"Oh my gosh, who?" Olette nearly hopped up from her seat on the couch, but shifted around instead.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Riku scratch at the back of his head. He looked to the ceiling as he took a big gulp.

To save both of them the embarrassment, Sayeh replied, "…It's a secret."

The boys sighed, disappointed in not learning the truth. Riku shifted in place, glancing at Sayeh before the call of the train cut through the awkward atmosphere.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna go home now." Hayner hopped up from a crate and headed for the entrance. "Bye, guys."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go, too." Pence left.

Olette approached Sayeh. "Hey, still up for movie night? It's okay, if you don't want to…with Fuu and all…"

"I think I'm gonna pass. Maybe next time," Sayeh replied, offering a friendly grin as Olette trailed after the boys.

Riku threw himself on the now vacant couch. He threw his hands over his head and let them dangle off the armrest.

Sayeh replaced Hayner on the crate, cradling her chin in her hands. As the train sounded off three more times, the two of them simply sat there, alone for the first time in virtual reality.

Finally, Riku said, "You know, just because I haven't said anything, doesn't…mean anything."

"Huh?" Letting her chin go, she looked in Riku's direction.

"Nothing. Are we crashing here tonight? I mean, I doubt the Mansion is an available area. And I don't know what else we are supposed to do in this virtual reality. It's actually kind of boring, to be honest."

"It's not meant to be exciting," Sayeh replied, fumbling with her hands. "It's meant to be boring, almost sedative. If Roxas was fighting his way around this world, perhaps he would find his way out. Or stop Sora's progress. Can we even use our weapons here?"

Calling a spell to mind, Sayeh extended her arm and uttered the words to create the glowing letters in the air. As she traced each letter, nothing showed.

In fact, she noticed that she could not even feel Riku's presence.

"Riku," she asked, "Can you summon your blade?"

Lazily, he held his arm in the air, and expected the Soul Eater to show.

But nothing happened.

"Huh, look at that."

The previously awkward mood had shifted to one of curiosity and anxiety. How were they supposed to get out? Did DiZ truly trap them in the digitized Twilight Town?

"For him to disable our abilities…that's not good." If only Sayeh had been a mind reader.

Jumping up from the couch, Riku rushed outside and stared into the sky. Sayeh searched around for anything that might be a clue as to getting out. They exchanged expressions of near horror, their minds racing with thoughts on DiZ's motives.

"You trapped us in here!" Riku yelled at the sky.

In the distance, a voice echoed, "Hey, keep it down!"

"Maybe it's a test—"

Riku whirled around on Sayeh. "Why would he be testing us? Think, Sayeh!"

"You don't have to be rude! Sheesh!"

"Since you have so many thoughts, why don't you get us started on a plan out of here?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely, I think we should split up. Scour the place for any possible exits. I'll take the Mansion, you take the Station—"

As Sayeh made to take off, Riku caught up to her. "You're not going by yourself!"

"Oh?" Sayeh glared at Riku. "There aren't any monsters in here. I can go anywhere I want by myself, especially now that Seifer has broken up with me."

Turning her nose in the air, Sayeh marched past Riku and continued her way to the Sandlot.

As a reminder, Twilight Town is always the same reddish-sunset hue at all hours. Technically it was night, and in the night, Heartless would lurk around the town, looking for unsuspecting denizens. Were this a true copy of Twilight Town, DiZ would have to let in Heartless—or perhaps he would animate false copies that acted as such. In those circumstances, Sayeh would indeed be out of luck. Fortunately for her, Riku stalked behind her, allowing her to walk alone but simultaneously following her steps. In Riku's head, it was a compromise.

Once near the crack in the wall leading to the woods, Riku drew closer to Sayeh. "You really think it's the Mansion?"

"It makes sense," Sayeh replied. "Either the Station, which leads to the Master Yen Sid's tower, or a haunted mansion. Place your bets."

"Where exactly in the Mansion, then?"

"If I were DiZ…" The truth was, she did not know how DiZ thought. She knew he hated Naminé for being witch, and surely hated the Organization XIII. DiZ would have no reason to send them in Master Yen Sid's virtual direction, and the Mansion never receives any visitors, other than themselves. "I don't know. But we could search the Mansion. I would start from the bottom, and work our way up."

Once inside the Mansion, they made their way to the room that lead to DiZ's laboratory. In the room, however, were no futuristic, grey steps leading to a darker grey landing. Instead, it was a library, as was its original purpose. Colorful books spanned the rotting gold shelves. A statue of a unicorn faced the window.

Sayeh fingered the statue, checking its range of movement.

"Sayeh, it's just a statue."

"No, it's more than that." With the forward tipping of the statue, white shimmer lit up a portion of the room before dispelling the illusion of a floor, and leading to darker gray spaces. Sayeh gave Riku a knowing look before continuing downstairs.

DiZ's computer flashed with a number that decreased with each flash. It said nothing more than the numbers, and it confused Sayeh.

Sayeh pointed to the screen and asked, "What do you think this is about?"

"It's a countdown, but for what?" Riku asked as he thought aloud.

As the number hit below ten, Riku let out a gasp. He nudged Sayeh towards the machines, moving quickly himself.

"It's our window of opportunity. Get to the machines."

Once it hit zero, the lasers tickled their skin, counting each pixel of their bodies before returning them to the real world.

Without missing a beat, Riku asked, "What kind of test was that? No Heartless, just kids—"

"Sedating, was it not?" DiZ replied with a question of his own. "You weren't able to use your powers, were you?"

"No," Sayeh answered, testing her magic by drawing letters in the air again. She could feel Riku's presence again, and it was comforting. Despite the darkness within him, she was used to his aura, a warm blanket enveloping her own aura. "But it was very mundane."

"It was meant to be. The objects responded favorably to your interactions. The program will be complete by the time Roxas is captured."

"Roxas…did he defeat Xion?"

DiZ nodded. "That puppet's signature no longer exists on the map. It vanished, but like it would through a Dark Corridor. Roxas became stronger, more complete. Which means…"

"It's time to get Roxas," Riku finished, his expression now grim. "I'm gonna see Naminé before I go. Let her know what she needs to do to prep."

"I'll come with you," Sayeh started after Riku, but he waved her off dismissively.

"Stay down here with DiZ. Give him any details you remember about the program that might help."

"…Okay…" Turning on her heel, she reluctantly rejoined DiZ.

As always, he was pecking away on his computer. How he understood computers was beyond Sayeh.

"How did you learn to do all this?"

DiZ ignored her, instead devoting his full attention to the program.

"Need any additional details about the program?"

Again, no answer.

Irritated by his lack of manners, Sayeh gave up and headed upstairs. Standing outside the door, she hesitated to go in. Riku had told her to stay downstairs, but there was no point. Sayeh was going with him anyway to take care of Roxas…Right? Her shaky hand came closer to turning the doorknob until she noticed the words Riku and Naminé were exchanging.

"…I just…I need it done. She can't remember me."

"But Riku, why? She wouldn't care…it would make no difference to her. You meant a lot to her."

They were talking about her. Why could Sayeh not remember Riku? Her memory was just fine, save for a couple of beginner spells on which her brain wasted space. Her hand dropped by side, and she retreated from the door. Perhaps it was best to wait, and then Riku could explain.

Maybe it was about Kairi instead, Sayeh forced herself to believe.

That night, Sayeh cuddled up with a book on material synthesis, something she would have to learn from Moogles to be good at. Riku leaned on her doorframe without announcing himself. His black cloak was on, and so was his blindfold.

"I guess you're waiting on me to get ready," Sayeh said evenly, though her heart was pounding.

"Yeah," Riku responded. "This is a time-sensitive matter."

A sliver of relief grew in her belly and settled some of the butterflies. Sayeh hopped from her bed and tossed the book on the nightstand before shrugging into her black coat. She matched Riku's gaze the whole time, still wary of what she heard outside the White Room. Then, she neared Riku while flashing him a smile.

"Ready?"

Without answering, Riku swept her into one of the tightest hugs Sayeh ever had. His strong arms nearly crushed her into his chest. She took in his citrusy smell and the tickle of his hair touching her face. His breath shuddered in her ear, and the tension in his body made the embrace tighter.

"R-Riku, you're crushing me," Sayeh said between light laughs.

"I'm sorry," Riku apologized, but not for the hug.

With the whisper of a spell, Sayeh's body fell limp and her weighted eyelids fell shut. She was a ragdoll in his hands, with her head lolling to the side, and her knees nearly to the floor. On the inside, however, Sayeh screamed and protested. Her body felt cold and refused to obey her commands. She demanded Riku release the spell, but the more she fought, the more tired she got. What strength she had left, she used to utter Riku's name.

"Riku?" Naminé's voice called.

Riku picked Sayeh up and laid her body on the bed. "There's not a lot of time. You'll have to be quick. She might know how to break it."

Whatever Naminé was doing, Sayeh could hear her hovering over her body. Cold radiated from her touch, and wordlessly, she took something from Sayeh. She did not know what it was, but she felt a tug and then an ache in her heart. What started as a small prick-like feeling erupted into waves of sadness and yearning, especially for something Sayeh no longer knew was there. It hurt her, but she could not move. There were no tears, no protests.

There was just sleep. Like Sora.

"It's been done. She'll won't remember you anymore."

* * *

Aww yeah. Confess your love, and get your memories erased! Thanks for waiting so long! Tried to make it good!


End file.
